
MAURICE E. MC LOUGH LIN 

National Singles Champion 1912, 1913; with T. C. Bundy, National Doubles Champion 1912, 
1913, 1914. 



TENNIS 

AS I PLAY IT 



BY 

MAURICE E. McLOUGHLIN 



PREFACE BY 
RICHARD NORRIS WILLIAMS, 2nd, 

National Champion of the United States, 1914 



ILLUSTRATED WITH 
SEVENTY-TWO REPRODUCTIONS 
OF PHOTOGRAPHS IN ACTION 



NEW YORK 
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 






Copyright, 1915, 
By George H. Doean Compant 



JUN21 1915 

©CIA406393 



TO 

SIDNEY R. MARVIN 

OF SAN FRANCISCO 

WHO HAS DONE MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE 
TO ENCOURAGE THE YOUNG PLAYERS OF 
CALIFORNIA, AND ^VHOSE TRUE FRIENDSHIP, 
GENEROUS PERSONAL INTEREST, AND KINDLY 
ENCOURAGEMENT HAVE PLAYED SO PROMINENT 
A PART IN MY OWN DEVELOPMENT IN THE GAME. 



PREFACE 

BY 

Richard Norris Williams 2nd 
National Champion of the United States IQlJf 

What pleases me so much in M. E. McLoughlin's book 
on tennis is that he shows the reader what he himself does, 
not only Avhat ought to be done. His idea of tennis is 
based on the theory: do what is natural^ what is born in 
you; and I do not believe that anybody who has played 
the game can deny this being the only rule or maxim that 
stands Avith no exceptions. People who write books on 
tennis or try to teach the game seem to get theories into 
their heads and believe that there is a right way or wrong 
way for everything, and they try to reorganize your game 
according to these ideas. This is fatal, and you will notice 
in the following pages that McLoughlin has no idea of so 
doing. He admits the fundamental principles of the game, 
but believes it is what is born in you that must be culti- 
vated and brought to flower. Thus his book is valuable to 
all players. He does not demand reconstruction to coin- 
cide with some pet theories of his own. He presents you 
with basic ideas and illustrates his use of them, but he 
leaves it for you to execute them in your own particular 
way. 

To my mind the book has another great asset. It is not 
only interesting from the point of view of a pupil who 
is trying to develop his game, but it is also interesting, I 

5 



6 PREFACE 

may even say fascinating, to the mature tennis player. In 
the pages we find McLoughlin's attractive personality 
which has made him so popular among the tennis players 
of the world, and as one reads along, it is really like having 
a friendly conversation with him after a match. I have 
known McLoughlin now for over three years, and every 
summer we go around to the same tournaments together — 
in fact, we room together like two college friends — so that 
I think I may say without exaggeration that I know him 
well, perhaps even better than any other of his tennis ac- 
quaintances, with the exception of our mutual friend, T. C. 
Bundy. From this long friendship I know with convic- 
tion that "he practices what he preaches" — not always the 
case with tennis players — and many a time I have been able 
to profit by his advice and test its soundness. As we all 
know he not only practices but succeeds in the things he 
preaches. One can find plenty of players who will try 
their best to point out the defects in his game. This is one 
of the easiest things to do in the tennis world. Remem- 
ber, however, that he has succeeded! It seems to me that 
success is a complete vindication of the methods he has 
chosen. 

There have been many books written on tennis, but the 
majority are antiquated and many others are written by 
men who are no longer in the game and are unable to 
realize the new conditions that now obtain. Especially in 
the last few years a great change has come about, and 
McLoughlin himself is one of the largest factors in this 
connection. I refer to the game's increase of speed — the 
service is faster and more deadly than some years ago, the 
striker-out has been forced to change his methods ; it is 
speed that now counts ! What master, then, would you 



PREFACE 7 

rather follow than the man who is in part responsible for 
this change? 

But let me again emphasize the fact that this book is not 
a scientific treatise based on theories which are^ perhaps, 
technically correct but impossible to carry out in practice. 
It presents a method based on years and years of practice 
and tournament play — a method which has proved to be 
successful. 

Richard N. Williams 2nd. 
Cambridge^ May, 1915. 



As this book is being prepared for the press 
the sad news is published that Anthony F. Wild- 
ing, who represented Australia as a member of 
the Davis Cup team and won the world's tennis 
championship two years ago, has been killed in 
the fighting in the Dardanelles. All who have 
met him on the courts or off will be deeply af- 
fected by the death of so fine a tennis plaj^er and 
so splendid a sportsman. I have had the honor 
of meeting him in many a gruelling match, and 
can bear witness that I have never faced an op- 
ponent of finer character. He was an unassum- 
ing man and a brave man, with a hearty enthu- 
siasm for the open and clean sport. His death 
will be a tragedy to his host of other friends, as 
it is to me. INIr. Wilding was second lieutenant 
in the Royal JNIarines. It is certain that he must 
have acquitted himself with the same cheerfulness 
and courage in battle that he brought to the lesser 
battles of the tennis turf. We shall miss him. 



IX 



COXTEXTS 



PAGE 

Preface by Richard Norris Williams, Second National 

Champion of the United States, 1914 .... 9 

CHAPTER I 

Climbing to the Expert Class .... . . 17 

CHAPTER II 

Your Racket, with Some Advice as to Proper Grip, 

Proper Dress for the Game, Etc. ..... 43 

CHAPTER HI 
Courts, and Conditions of Play upon Them ... 61 

CHAPTER IV 
The Service 87 

CHAPTER V 

RECEmNG, or the Striker-Out . . . ... . 117 

CHAPTER YI 
The Forehand 139 

CHAPTER YII 
The Backhand 161 

CHAPTER YIII 
The ^'oLLEY .......... 173 

11 



12 CONTENTS 

PAGK 

CHAPTER IX 
Lobs, Chops and Spins . ....... 189 

CHAPTER X 
OvEKHEAD Work — "The Smash" :^11 

CHAPTER XI 
Doubles 22S 

CHAPTER XII 
Practice and Training . . 251 

CHAPTER XIII 
Ladies' Tennis . 385 

CHAPTER XIV 

Tight Places in Tournaments ...... 299 

CHAPTER XV 
Tennis Travels 321 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Maurice E. McLoughlin . . . . Frontispiece 

riGUBES 

Climbing to the Expert Class . . . . 1-6 

Service 7-20 

Receiving 21-23 

Forehand . . . . . . . . 24-40 

Backhand 41-54 

Volley 55-61 

Overhead Smash 62-63 

Doubles 64-66 

Davis Cup Play 67-71 



TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 



TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

CHAPTER I 

cli:mbing to the expert class 

THE thing that I wish least of all to do in 
writing this book is to assume any au- 
thorit}^ to laj^ down the law as one who con- 
siders that he knows it all. To such of the 
match-winning champions as may chance to read 
it, I hasten to offer my admiration. So great is 
my debt to the game of tennis in general, for the 
fun it has given me and the friends it has enabled 
me to make, that I want to thank it as though it 
were an actual person, and to recommend it to 
youngsters in the game, whether they are boys of 
fourteen with their first rackets, or far older men 
and women who are just discovering its joys. 
In this book I offer diffidenth'^ what things I have 
found out by actual personal experience. 

There is certainly no royal road to an expert 
game, and no words of mine can turn your lead 
into gold by some mysterious alchemy. One 

17 



18 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

does not learn tennis from a book, in any case, 
but by constant practice and study on the court 
itself, and the encountering and overcoming of 
the obstacles that present themselves in each 
day's play. A racket in the hand is worth any 
number of diagrams. As with everything else 
in life, it is salutary to be perpetually dissatis- 
fied with the class of game you play ; but this dis- 
satisfaction should never cause despair, if you 
are really desirous of climbing to the expert 
class. Rather it should be a constant spur to 
your intelligence and ingenuity. In the first 
place it is most advisable to start with the cor- 
rect positions and fundamental ideas, and, 
through whatever source, to learn to distinguish 
the difference between good and bad stroke- 
form. If you have contracted cramped and es- 
sentially wrong habits of play, by all means 
set about immediately to remedy them by the 
exercise of intelligence and practice. The most 
expert plaj^ers have often worked for a long 
time to eradicate some faulty eccentricity of their 
earlier method. You should never relax the 
study of your various opponents and should 
strive to meet men with very different stjdes of 
play, that j^our tennis education may not be one- 
sided. Play constantly against men as good or. 



CLIMBING TO EXPERT CLASS 19 

preferably, better than yourself. Never be sat- 
isfied with easy little victories or strive to win 
in any old way. Play keenly in practice and play 
you r wea kn esses. 

The best books I know of on the game are by 
Kidston, Vaile, Dewhurst, Dohert}^ Meyers, 
Wrenn, Wilding, Alexander, Little and Paret. 
Some of the books of this list were written after 
I had been playing the game for a number of 
years. Consequently I cannot say that they have 
directly helped me in my development. Those 
that were published before I took up the game — 
I refer in particular to the works of Wrenn 
and Doherty — did help me indirectly. I say "in- 
directly" because I have no recollection of mak- 
ing a study of those books at the time I was 
learning the strokes. Yet I gathered enough 
from them, and from the talk of those around 
me, to give me a rough idea of several stroke 
principles advocated b}'- the writers. The more 
one actually plays, the more he will get from 
his reading on the game. But forget your books 
when 3^ou are out on the court! Have their 
sug-g-estions in vour mind, but do not think book- 
ishly in actual play. Above all do not play at 
playing, monkey-shining and clowning about on 
the court. This is very injurious to your game 



CLIMBING TO THE EXPERT CLASS 

America's Davis Cup team of 1914; reading from left 
to right, M. E. McLoughlin (Captain), Champion R. N. 
Williams II, Karl Behr, and T. C. Bundy. The picture 
was taken at Boston, where we put in a few days' practice 
about a week prior to the International matches. 



Figure 1 



America's Davis Cup Team of 1913; reading from left 
to right, M. E. McLoughlin, H. H. Hackett (Captain), 
and R. N. Williams II. The picture was taken on the 
dock in New York just after our ship had landed, at the 
close of our successful quest in England for the cup. W. 
F. Johnson was also a member of the team in England, al- 
though he did not sail at the same time that we did. 

It was made a wonderful homecoming by a host of 
friends who did us the honor to be present when the ship 
docked^ and gave us a royal welcome. 



Figure 2 




Figure 1 




llGURE 2 



CLIMBIXG TO EXPERT CLASS 23 

and yet something a great many very j^oung 
players, and some old enough to know better, 
constantly do. Do not waste time justifying 
yourself to others for a mistake. Their attitude 
toward you will be one of "INIethinks he doth 
protest too much!" anj^way, and j^ou will not 
take the profit you might from your disaster. If 
the mistake was unavoidable that will be obvi- 
ous, but ten to one it was your own fault due 
to some radical defect in the way you plaj^ed that 
shot or the position you were in. If j^ou can di- 
agnose the circumstances and learn from them, 
you will be far more sensible than in indulging 
a childish vanity. Poise, good temper, control 
of the feelings are even more necessary than sci- 
ence. Throwing down one's racket and turning 
the air blue merely increase one's nervousness. 
If it is in doubles, your more seasoned partner 
will feel like spanking you; and, anywaj^ if he 
is a good fellow he will not be laying too much 
stress on that one misplay. Doubles must be 
something like marriage. You have to bear with 
the other person's faults and try to remedy j^our 
own. If one is thirty, or even thirtj''-five, he is 
not too old to start a tennis career. He can 
learn to play a fairh^ good game and derive a 
great deal of pleasure from it. One of my best 



CLIMBING TO THE EXPERT CLASS 

Norman E. Brookes (left) and myself, taken just before 
our match in the Davis Cup Challenge Round of 1914. 



Figure 3 



Thomas C. Bundy (right) and myself, taken on the 
match court just before our doubles against Brookes and 
Wilding on the second day's play in the Internationals 
against Australasia, which was won by the latter. 



Figure 4 




Figure 3 




Figure 4 



CLIMBIXG TO EXPERT CLASS 27 

friends started at the age of thirty-five and plays 
a veiy good game. He will never be a "crack," 
but he plays well enough to beat some good play- 
ers, and incidentally enjoys himself thoroughlj^ 
Tennis is rather too strenuous for old people. 
Golf is a better game for them. But a fairly 
active man of middle-age, with a good phj^sique, 
should have no trouble in mastering the game 
sufficiently to be a factor in rather fast play. 
Condition counts of course with old or young, 
as in anj^ game. Agility is especially necessary 
in tennis, but endurance plays an equal part. 
Personally, I do not drink or smoke, but this is 
not because of the game. It stands to reason, 
however, that temperance and common-sense in 
these things are a necessity if j^ou are after suc- 
cess. A little success is very apt to turn a young 
fellow's head. Early success is always danger- 
ous. I recall a young fellow who had beautiful 
tennis "form" and gave promise of being one of 
the very best. He started to plaj^ unusually 
well, and beat foiu* or five of the best players 
in his locality when only sixteen or seventeen 
years old. He was given much publicity and 
praise. There was a noticeable change in him 
afterwards. He lost his respect for the men he 
had beaten, and his whole attitude showed clearlj^ 



28 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

what was going on in his mind. He beat two or 
three men that he never should have defeated, and 
then dropped from sight as far as tennis was 
concerned. Keep your head even if you show 
great promise. 

Tennis abihty is natural, not artificial. When 
one has mastered the essentials of the game he 
should then fall easily and gracefully into the 
style that comes most naturally to him. Many 
a beginner with bright prospects has been spoiled 
by a desire to pursue methods which certain au- 
thorities have advised rather than those in which 
he, personally, would be more likely to become 
proficient. This tendency is especially notice- 
able among the English players. They may be 
singled out on the courts the world over by their 
peculiar national style of play; and the young 
Britisher is prone to disregard all advice that 
leads him away from time-honored precepts. I 
recall a remark by an English gentleman some 
years ago after he had been watching the play 
of a young tennis prodigy on the public courts 
in San Francisco: "Most extraordinary — mar- 
velous!" he exclaimed, and then added depre- 
catingly: "But he uses strokes that are not in 
the book!" Subsequent conversation developed 
that he regarded this deviation as disqualifying 



CLIMBING TO EXPERT CLASS 29 

the juvenile from anj^ pretense to future great- 
ness. In their puWished works on tennis, the 
Doherty brothers, themselves among the great- 
est pla^^ers the world has known, insisted that no 
ball could be truly stroked unless the head of 
the racket, no matter what the plaj'-er's position, 
were elevated above the wrist. And this is al- 
most a sacred method to all Englishmen. 

Do not make tennis a drudgery and become 
bored with the game, and do not over-study tech- 
nique. I know a player who practices ten thou- 
sand strokes in the morning and plays all after- 
noon, day in and day out. He is like a pianist 
who practices all day on scales. The pleasure 
evaporates, and with it whatever "pep" your 
game may have. Play only when you are full 
of enthusiasm and ambition. Don't grind on 
after you have "gone stale." Nothing but harm 
can result. On the other hand, don't give up the 
attempt to remedy a deficiency in your game 
just because it takes a little hard work. If you 
haven't application enough, or interest enough, 
to Avork over your weak points you will never be 
a real player. Every club has one or two cranks. 
They never become first-rate players. They are 
satisfied with their little victories. Their method 
of practicing and doing things suits them. But 



CLIMBING TO THE EXPERT CLASS 
Ready for the Fray 



Figure 5 




Figure 5 



CLIMBING TO EXPERT CLASS 33 

no young man with a chance to achieve things at 
tennis should he envious of joining their ranks. 
Even if you pick up the game very rapidly and 
easily you are not going to win all the time. It 
will probably be bad for you anyway. Better 
take many defeats from players "out of your 
class," and profit thereby. 

Perhaps there 'is one point of the game that 
heretofore has been lightly treated in books. This 
is imitation. To the youngster taking up the 
game, imitation of the proper method, to my 
mind, is of vital importance in his proper devel- 
opment. A boy in his early teens is naturally 
very imitative. In almost everything he does 
he is unconsciously endeavoring to emulate some- 
body older than himself. This is particular^ 
true in sports. Personally, I do not have to 
look back very many years to my boj^hood, and 
I can distinctly remember being verj^ vividly 
impressed b}^ the beauty of expert tennis as ex- 
emplified by certain top-notchers. Naturally, I 
was ambitious to learn the proficiency of their 
strokes, and endeavored to imitate them. As I 
have said I had learned indirectly from books 
a little general stroke-form, and therefore was 
able to recognize the points of a first-class player. 
A sound book on the game can greatly aid a 



CLIMBING TO THE EXPERT CLASS 

Brookes and myself snapped by another camera just 
before our match in the Challenge Round started. 
Somebody has called for a smile, although it is rather 
difficult to produce one at such a time, since one is pretty 
well keyed up, and the nervous tension extreme just before 
a big match. This tension relaxes perceptibly after a few 
games of actual play, and the mind becomes entirely con- 
centrated upon the business in hand. 

Perhaps it might be of interest to note and compare in 
this picture two totally different styles of dress for the 
game. It will be seen that Brookes carries a cap in his 
hand which he wore throughout the match, whereas I never 
use any form of headgear. Brookes' shirt is seen to have 
long sleeves, while mine are amputated just above the 
elbow. Notice also that Brookes wears no belt, a common 
characteristic among Australian and English players. His 
footgear differs from mine only in the style of upper (as 
we both have the thin leather soles with steel spikes), his 
upper being of buckskin and mine of soft calfskin. 



Figure 6 




Figure 6 



CLIMBING TO EXPERT CLASS 37 

youngster to this recognition. Select, then, one 
of the best players whose game you know and 
see constantly, and model your game on his in 
j^our own individual way. Choose a plaj^er, pref- 
erably, the features of whose game are like 
j'^ours. Base the alterations of your game upon 
your own character as well as upon his general 
practices. 

The more successfully you accomplish this imi- 
tation, the more your own individualitj^ will en- 
ter into your strokes. As development goes on, 
these strokes will become more and more a part 
of j^ourself, until they are thoroughly assimi- 
lated. This is one of the many pillars that sup- 
port an efficient game of tennis. I highly advo- 
cate professional teaching because it models the 
young player along the right lines. By all 
means dispense with all artificial aid. I know 
some players, for instance, who can play better 
with notches cut in the racket for each finger, 
but I certainly do not recommend this practice. 
If you wish to reason out the action of "spin" or 
"cut," Vaile's diagrams on the mechanics of the 
ball's flight can hardly be bettered. A blank 
wall, barn, etc., in your vicinity can be made use 
of sometimes for special practice of strokes you 
are learning or bettering. If such an aid is con- 



38 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

veniently situated to you it may be a decided 
help, but do not overwork it. If you really have 
the game at heart, keep "plugging." I thought 
I should never improve. I was convinced in my 
own mind, but I kept plugging away. 

Lastly come two points so important that they 
cannot be too often reiterated: Keep your eye 
on the hall, and follow through. First, last, and 
all the time : Keep your eye on the hall. When- 
ever possible, keep it also upon the part of the 
hall that you are to hit. This, we know, is an 
axiom of golf, a necessity in billiards; it is no 
less a prime factor in tennis. Your sight will 
slacken, and when it slackens you will begin to 
"hit it on the wood" and wonder what is the 
matter. In the majority of cases, after you have 
attained a certain proficiency, it is your eye. In 
expert tennis the eye 7nust be riveted upon the 
ball all the time, as the intensity and swiftness 
of the play is extreme. The necessity of the 
"follow through" I shall deal with a little later 
on. If you cultivate laziness of attention in 
practice, or "soft" matches, you will never have 
a chance when the crucial time comes. From 
the moment you step upon the court to the mo- 
ment you leave it you should be electric with 
concentrated attention. Your thought and ac- 



CLIMBING TO EXPERT CLASS 39 

tion must be almost simultaneous when the game 
is under waj^ and you cannot, by any means, af- 
ford to give a single thought to anything except 
the play in hand. You should be "on your toes" 
all the time. And all this does not mean that 
you should be vibrating in a highly nervous state. 
Calmness, coolness, and control must see you 
through. Say you are "passed" once or a dozen 
times, say that you serve and again serve double 
faults, every new point and every new stroke 
should be played as if nothing had gone before 
and as if it were the most important shot of the 
match. Tennis shows up character, and charac- 
ter tells every time. 



SERVICE— I 

The camera has caught me just a fraction of a second 
before the racket is to flasli up on the ball in a practice 
match at the West Side Club in New York just prior to 
our preliminary matches against Australasia in 1913. The 
stance and body position in this picture indicates clearly 
that I have no intention of taking the net on this service. 
(It will be interesting to note in comparison with 
Figure IS, where I do intend to take the net.) This 
service is to be of the American twist variety; note the 
position of the ball in the air directly above the eyes. The 
ball is also at the point in the air at which it will be struck, 
and it will be plainly seen that it is essential to be fully 
extended in accomplishing this service. Note that the 
weight is being shifted entirely onto the left foot and the 
body is bending back, which allows for the proper position 
to execute an American service and also gives you added 
power when the racket goes through on the ball and the 
body is thrown forward at the same time. The right foot 
is just about to leave the ground entirelj'^ and will be the 
first portion of the body to cross the line. 



Figure 7 




FiGU 



RE t 



CHAPTER II 

YOUR RACKET 

(With Some Advice as to Proper Grip, Proper 
Dress for the Game, etc.) 

DON'T get just "a racket." See that it is 
neither too heavy nor too hght. I have 
in mind no especial racket to advise for a be- 
ginner. I should say, "Buy the best racket you 
can afford." After all, the balance and weight 
of your racket are of first importance. The latter 
should range between 13l/^ and 141/4 ounces, the 
weight felt to be either evenly distributed or 
light in the head as the racket is swung in the 
hand. A great many players are prone to judge 
the balance of a racket by placing their finger 
beneath the screw through the throat-piece. In 
reality this is a false basis to form an opinion 
from, as the position of the screw even in the 
same make of racket is ever varjnng. One should 
always form his impression of a racket's balance 
by the way it feels when he makes a few trial 

43 



i. 



44 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

swings. One of the chief points in the care of 
my own rackets is to keep them away from all 
dampness. If the racket is laid aside for any 
length of time, I generally put it in a press, first 
being sure that the gut is not liable to break 
while it is on the shelf. If this should happen, 
there is danger of the frame being pulled out of 
shape, owing to the uneven tension on the wood. 
So, whenever there is any doubt in my mind 
about the strings I generally cut them out. As 
to the make of my own racket, — until this win- 
ter, and for six years past, I have used a Sutton 
Star, made by the firm of Wright & Ditson. Re- 
cently they have done me the honor of putting a 
racket that bears my own name on the market. 
It is one greatly to my liking and I expect to 
use it a good deal in the future. I handle a little 
more weight, approximately 14% oz., than the 
average player, and my racket's balance is also 
a little more in its head than is the case with the 
weapon of the average player. I am inclined to 
favor a large, rather than a small, racket handle, 
whenever the size of the player's hand permits 
of a choice. But, oftentimes, a player simply 
cannot do as well with a large handle, and it 
would only result in a serious handicap if he 
persisted in its use. By a large handle I do not 



YOUR RACKET 45 

refer to a circumference much exceeding 5I/4 ins. 
As to the stringing, I do not beheve that you can 
specify just exactly Jiow tightly a racket should 
be strung, for you cannot escape the fact that no 
two players' tastes exactly talh^ For example, 
Brookes prefers a medium tight string, whereas 
Williams prefers very tight stringing, and thus 
it goes through a list of the experts. It has been 
said that the cross strings should not rob the 
long strings, but 5^ou will find that the expert 
stringer pulls up his long strings to conform 
with the tension of the cross strings. 

Does a heavy racket make for slowness? Cer- 
tainly, in certain strokes; in particular, those at 
the net that require quick wrist-action and an 
instant shift of racket position. But one's 
ground strokes, if anything, are speeded up by 
a heavy racket because of the fact that, naturally, 
in a full arm swing you are putting more weight 
behind the ball. That is the reason, in my own 
case, for using considerable weight in the racket- 
head. It gives the greatest pace and length on 
drives, with the least amount of energy expended. 
But, in attaining what proficiency I can claim, 
I had to gradually train my wrist to stand the 
added strain and leverage w^hen I had to handle 
the racket quickly, for there the weight told 



SERVICE— II 

A little further along in the American service, when I 
have no intention of taking the net. The ball has been 
struck and is seen to be leaving the camera's field. The 
picture illustrates the poise that is necessary in delivering 
a service of this type. It can be seen that all my weight is 
upon the toe of the left foot and my left leg and right 
arm are practically in line for the moment, thus establish- 
ing the required balance. The racket arm is about to 
descend in the completion of the follow-through, at the 
same time the body will complete its rotation as the right 
leg swings in. 



Figure 8 




Figure 



YOUR RACKET 49 

against me. So you can see why I advise tlie 
average player to use an evenly balanced or 
light-in-tlie-head racket. Under ordinary con- 
ditions it is unnecessary to insist on new balls 
after each set, but new balls are seldom good for 
more than from two to four sets, depending, of 
course, on the courts and conditions under which 
they are used. Always use the best and newest 
balls you can afford. To keep on using old balls 
until they have grown very light — or, on grass, 
very heavy and green, — is distinctly injurious to 
one's game, especially if one ever expects to in- 
dulge in tournament play; for your game has 
been unconsciously built up with a ball of incor- 
rect weight and balance, and it is obvious that 
3^our strokes will be seriously affected when you 
meet with balls of the required standard. Also, 
the average player should always be very care- 
ful to keep the net at its proper height. It is a 
very common thing for him to become lax on this 
point, and, as in the use of old balls, he becomes 
accustomed to falsely fa Adorable conditions. A 
man should never play in the rain unless he has 
to. As a matter of fact the amount of tennis 
he must ever play under tliese conditions is very 
small. Sometimes, tliough, in a fine drizzle a 
match game is not called and you are virtually 



50 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

playing in rain otherwise interpreted by the ref- 
eree. This has happened to me not infrequently. 
There is practically no way to protect your 
racket. The onlj^ thing to do after the strings 
are once thoroughly moist is to cut them out of 
the frame and save the frame from warping. 

In dressing for the game, simply keep two 
points in mind. First, you should carry as little 
weight in clothing as is comportable with de- 
cency and comfort. Your under garments should 
be as light and as scantj^ as possible; your 
shirt as easy and unbinding as you can get, 
with abbreviated sleeves preferably. You will 
want no hindrance in the free swing of your 
arms. Flannel trousers of light weight, snugly 
belted, loose enough not to bind, and in no 
way liable to trip, are the best in my opinion, 
though a few players still affect knickerbockers 
— my friend Horace Rice of New South Wales 
being, however, the only first-class player I know 
who does so. A polo-coat or sweater is a good 
thing to have on hand to slip on between matches. 
Of course, shoes for tennis vary entirely with 
the court you play on. I am a believer in the 
lightest shoe possible for all hard courts, except- 
ing asphalt, where a shoe that has a light upper 
with an extra heavy rubber sole is better. 



YOUR RACKET 51 

Leather uppers with rubber soles, to my mind, 
are apt to be too ckimsy, unless a player suffers 
from weak ankles, in which case the bal type 
of leather shoe with a rubber sole is a very help- 
ful support. On asphalt courts the additional 
cushion of an extra heavy woolen sock is advis- 
able. To me, personally, a cap or a hat is very 
annoying, although Brookes and Wilding are 
both known to wear some sort of head-gear. I 
think it is better, if possible, to accustom one's 
self to play without a hat under all conditions. 
Oftentimes a hat, especially in a rush to the net, 
has to be pulled down on the head so tightl}^ in 
order to keep it on, that it actuallj^ tends to stop 
the blood-flow. For some players who perspire 
freely around the head, a handkerchief or band 
is used about the forehead. But this, by no 
means, applies to players in general. Person- 
ally, I have never felt the necessity of such a de- 
vice even in the hottest weather and during the 
hottest set. In almost all the American grass 
court tournaments the spike shoe is used, though 
rarely by the English, in their own tournaments. 
On account of the wear and tear that the con- 
tinuous use of the spike shoe has on the grass, 
few clubs in America permit such a shoe in prac- 
tice, but their periodical use in tournament i)lay 



SERVICE— in 

This shows my racket descending during the follow- 
through. The photograph was made during the Davis Cup 
matches at the West Side Club in Ipl'i, and is an excep- 
tion^ as the camera has caught me when not taking the 
net on service, which I almost invariably did do through- 
out the matches. A comparison with Figures 17, 18, and 
19 illustrates very clearly the difference in body action 
and balance when taking the net on service and when not 
doing so. The body does not lean so far in the court, the 
right leg below the knee because of this does not need to 
kick back as in Figure I6 to avoid the foot fault. In fact, 
throughout a service of this type, the action is a great deal 
more restrained than in a service that couples with it the 
rush to the net. 



Figure 9 




Figure 9 



YOUR RACKET 55 

each year, I am sure, does no appreciable injury 
to the courts. The length of the spike is regu- 
lated by the National Association to a maximum 
of 1/4 • The average shoe has from 12 to 15 
spikes ( including the heel ) . 

Latterly the question of the plaj^er's grip on 
the racket has been much discussed. In my view 
it rests with the player himself to determine what 
grip is the least tiring and gives him the greatest 
control of the ball. There are two methods of 
changing the grip in general use. Roughly 
speaking, some players, in switching from fore- 
hand to backhand, turn the hand instead of the 
racket; others turn the racket but not the hand, 
a style favored in England where they also favor 
the "head of the racket above the wrist" princi- 
ple, all of which results in there being quite an 
angle between forearm and racket-handle on the 
bacldiand. JNIr. Vaile has pointed out that this 
should not be the case, that the racket handle 
and forearm should be applied in what he calls 
the same "plane of force," And he distinctly 
favors the knuckles facing the coming ball, not, 
as in the English style, nearly the whole back of 
the hand. I can only say that there have been 
famous exponents of both systems. The ques- 
tion of grip is largely solved in the illustrations 



56 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

to this book, so I shall not give it much space 
here. Some players use their thumb down the 
racket to strengthen their backhand. It all de- 
pends upon the make of the man and his strength 
and accuracy of wrist. As to the angle between 
forearm and racket-handle, Mr. Vaile's example 
of the former method's similarity to pushing a 
flat-car from the rear corner instead of from 
directly behind it, seems reasonable, and for the 
average player I think I should advise a pretty 
horizontal backhand with the knuckles forward. 
But there again the make of the player will have 
a great deal to do with it, and above all it is 
necessary to cultivate a grip that is natural to 
you. There will have to be some change for the 
backhand, and the time element will enter in in 
fast play. In general, hold the racket somewhat 
loosely, so as not to tire the arm, except at the 
instant of impact with the ball when a firm grip 
is imperative. In onlj^ one instance should the 
racket be held loosely at the time of impact ; that 
is when a "stop-volley" is employed to drop a 
ball just over the net. This is often a very ef- 
fective stroke on turf courts, where contact of 
the ball with a loosely held racket causes it to fall 
almost lifeless. On asphalt the bound is alwaj^^s 
greater and the stroke not so effective. Beals 



YOUR RACKET 57 

Wright dropped the hall short over the net with 
a slice that gave it back-spin and caused it to 
"die" where it hit, just as the pool-player holds 
his cue ball b}' imparting to it a bit of "draw." 



SERVICE— IV 

A service similar in type to Figure 1 , although taken on 
a different occasion. The picture was taken just at the 
moment of impact and the arm is seen fully extended, the 
body rotating at the waist as the right leg swings in, al- 
though it is evident I have no intention of taking the net, 
as a comparison with Figure 16 will show. 



Figure 10 



SERVICE— V 

The completion of my American service when not tak- 
ing the net. The racket is seen to have come through 
almost to the ground, at the same time as the right leg has 
swung in. Naturally, to recover the proper balance pre- 
parator}^ to the return of the service, the left leg must come 
up even with the right and the body weight be evenly dis- 
tributed on the balls of the feet to be ready on the instant 
to start in any direction that the occasion demands. 



Figure 1 1 



CHAPTER III 

COURTS, AND CONDITIONS OF PLAY UPON 

THEM 

WTHIN the last ten years, the intense 
speed of the present game has been de- 
veloped, and has been due for the most part to 
American methods and, possiblj-, as far as 
America is concerned, to the California contin- 
gent. There has been a similar increase in the 
speed of the game in other countries as well, 
excepting England, although I am sure America 
has led in the development along these lines. In 
California this development can be traced di- 
rectly to the hard courts. But national cham- 
pionships now attract players from all parts of 
the country, and the slap-dash Westerner has 
met his Eastern rival in tournament competition 
and learned a lesson in steadiness. The man of 
the Atlantic seaboard has profited by the neces- 
sity of shaping his style to offset the quick-fire, 
though erratic, mode of attack; and thus each, 
no matter liow stubbornly he maj^ strive to ad- 

61 



62 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

here to his own formula, is unconsciously weed- 
ing out its faults and assimilating the merits of 
the other. In my opinion the coming champion 
will be one who has most perfectly blended ra- 
pidity of action with control of placement; who 
will be neither "slow but sure" nor fast but un- 
certain; one who can add high speed to the pre- 
cision of the "safe" game. 

That two distinct styles of play differentiate 
players from the extreme West from those east 
of the Rocky Mountains is, as I have hinted, al- 
most entirely due to the difference in the courts 
in use in these two sections of the United States. 
On the Pacific Coast, tournament tennis is 
played almost entirely on asphalt; in the East 
the turf court predominates everywhere, though 
there are many clay or "dirt" courts also. Ten- 
nis played upon asphalt develops the need of a 
far faster game than that on turf. With the lat- 
ter there is always a tendency for the player to 
meet the ball; because of its slow bound he has 
time to set himself and deliver an easy, well- 
calculated stroke. On the Pacific Coast courts 
the fast-bounding ball meets the player : in other 
words, the difference of a small fraction of a sec- 
ond is sufficient in many cases to prevent his set- 
ting himself for the stroke. He is seldom given 



COURTS 63 

time to deliberate, and must make his choice of 
stroke and placing on the briefest instant. As a 
result the Coast player has developed methods 
which mean fast stroking, whether in or out of 
position. Without opportunity for the perfect 
poise and "set" which the slower turf courts af- 
ford, he strives for a quick "kill" rather than to 
work his player out of position at the end of a 
long rally. Because of this tendency the asphalt 
court plaj^er's game appears far more spectacu- 
lar than that of his Eastern rival, while in turn 
the latter has developed much the greater steadi- 
ness and a better poise and grace. The Western 
asphalt court cracks in extreme cold, and hence 
it is not practicable for the East, though hard 
surfaces would be an advantage to England, and 
seemingly feasible over there. Even the second 
and third grade players of the Middle West and 
Atlantic States have better-developed ground- 
strokes than those from the extreme West; to 
use a colloquialism of the courts, theirs is a 
"strokier" game, the long, sweeping follow- 
through giving grace and style even to those far 
from the top in point of actual skill. To equal- 
ize this there is the greater speed which the West- 
erner has been forced to attain in covering his 
court, his readiness at the instant to do the most 



SERVICE— VI 

Showing my American service just before the right leg 
is to leave the ground, and the body weight thus trans- 
ferred entirely onto the left will be raised up on the 
toes of the left foot, as the ball reaches the point in the 
air at which it will be struck. The ball in this picture, 
which has been tossed up by the left hand, has not quite 
reached this point, as shown by the fact that it has not 
as yet reached a position directly above my eyes or suffi- 
ciently high enough above my head to be struck when 
fully extended. 

A glance at my service pictures collectively reveals the 
fact that all the action takes place with the weight on 
the left foot. It must be remembered, however, that at 
one short stage in the very beginning of the service the 
weight is rocked back onto the right leg, and then forward 
again onto the left. This has taken place in this picture 
just a moment before the photographer made the exposure. 



Figure 12 




Figure 12 



COURTS 67 

effective thing possible, whether he be in posi- 
tion or off his balance ; and, above all, the marked 
degree to which he has developed his overhead 
work. 

There are some concrete courts in California, 
although the asphalt courts vastly out-number 
them, and are very much more practicable to 
play on. Concrete is so absolutely unyielding 
that even the Western players who have become 
toughened to the hard asphalt courts cannot 
stand the strain of continuous play on the still 
harder cement. In fact, in a great many locali- 
ties concrete courts are being supplanted by 
those of either asphalt or dirt. I hardly know 
of an important tournament at the present time 
that is played upon the former surface. We 
have another typical court that would come un- 
der the head of a dirt court; it is a combination 
of gravel and oil. When this court is properly 
laid it is most delightful to play on, because it 
has all the attributes of asphalt and dirt minus 
the tendency of the latter to "kick up." There 
is still another combination of materials, that of 
shell and gravel, which, if properly mixed and 
laid, makes a wonderful court. However, it is 
very difficult to get this exact combination and 
consequently there are few such. But, like the 



68 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

oil courts, they combine all that is best in other 
hard surfaces, and are far more cleanly to play 
on than is oil, besides being even easier on the 
feet. 

Given different types of court, each at its high- 
est grade, I prefer the grass court. A second- 
rate grass court is always surpassed by a hard 
surface, where the balls bound true, but, provided 
the grass court is in any fit shape, I should ad- 
vise a beginner to start playing upon it. I have 
sometimes wished that I had grounded my own 
game in its early stages upon grass. It tends 
to aid you in developing more accurateljr two 
of 3^our major strokes, namely: the fore and 
backhand drives. On the other hand, the hard 
court has its advantages over grass in that its 
surface is more uniform and, as already stated, 
increases one's speed. Personally, I prefer 
asphalt to "dirt," because its surface is abso- 
lutely unvarying under all conditions, whereas 
the dirt court is very apt to "kick up" and make 
one slip on the loose surface. However, some 
players do not mind this loose surface and pre- 
fer the "dirt" because it is a good deal easier 
on one's feet. 

On the whole, the grass courts in England sur- 
pass those of any other countr}^ Those at Wim- 



COURTS 69 

bledon and Queen's Club are tlie finest I have 
played on. One of the main reasons for this 
success is climatic; another, the age of the turf 
and the care it has received. Naturally there 
are certain particular courts in Australia and 
America that compare favorabljr with those of 
England. To name a few, there are those in 
America, at Newport, Boston (Longwood), 
New York (West Side), Philadelphia (various 
cricket chilis, — JNIerion, Germantown and Phila- 
delphia) ; in Cliicago, the Onwentsia Club at 
Lake Forrest ; in Australia, the courts at Double 
Bay, the Royal Sydney Golf Club in Sydney, 
and the courts of the Lawn Tennis Association 
of Victoria in Melbourne; and in New Zealand, 
the courts at Lancaster Park on which the Inter- 
national matches were plaj^ed in Christchurch. 
For the famous courts of the world I should 
imquestionably point to those at Wimbledon and 
Newport as standing out most prominentl}^ 
And now the courts of the West Side Club at 
Forest Hills, Long Island, have been placed in 
this same class b}^ virtue of the great interna- 
tional matches played there in 1914. The most 
particular tournament advantages these have for 
the player are that they are wonderfully uni- 
form in surface, and like a perfect billiard table 



SERVICE— VII 

Showing ni}^ American service a fraction of a second 
before impact. The racket is being swung in a sort of ro- 
tary motion around in back, like that we employ when 
swinging an Indian club. It is during this time that the 
racket is gaining impetus so as to come up on the ball with 
terrific velocity. Again will be noted the idea of poise, as 
a perpendicular line drawn up through my left leg and 
througii the body is seen to approximately divide my weight, 
which thus establishes a balance. Here is seen very plainly 
•the bent back position of the body just before the ball 
is struck. The small of the back literally foi'ms an arch, 
and tremendous strain is brought about on the lumbar 
muscles as the body is snapped out of this arched-back 
position in a forward direction after the ball is struck. 
This, however, is the main source of power that is exerted 
in a fast American service. 



Figure 1 3 







# 








I 


M 


^-.^i^ik 




* ^' 




4 


V^ 






^HK^ 


[ I 


. 


■ 




WtWKk 


■ 


H^p.'^*^ 


Photo by Edwinji0>til!^. 



Figure V6 



COURTS 73 

permit accurate handling of the ball. Our best 
gi'ass courts, as you see, are in the East. In 
fact, there are none at all in the far West except 
in Canada. I won't go into the subject of turf 
very deeply, mainly because I am not competent 
to do so. I do know, however, that the most sat- 
isfactory tennis turf is that of slender blades that 
grow very thickly and entirely free from weeds 
and clover. The quality of the grass tennis 
coiu't, assuming that you have the proper turf, 
depends almost entirely upon the care it receives. 
This is a great deal more intricate than the av- 
erage person realizes and some of the best courts 
in the world have been likened to babies because 
of the constant attention they demand. A very 
natural tendency is for the court to become too 
springy, — hence the incessant rolling that a good 
court receives. 

I am not going to tell you how to lay out a 
tennis court. You can easily obtain directions 
for that, and the correct measurements. But I 
would emphasize a few important points. First 
see that your court is situated so that the sun 
passes across it in line with the net, and not 
longitudinally. Even England's gi'eatest court, 
the famous centre court at Wimbledon, has the 
serious defect of occasionally blinding the player 



SERVICE— VIII 

This picture was taken during my matches at Newport 
in 1913 for the National Championship. It is very similar, 
indeed, to the action as shown in service Figure 13, only 
it has been taken further around behind me and more 
clearly illustrates the bent back position of the body and 
the nicety of balance that is required (with the weight 
all pivoted on the toes of the left foot) to execute a service 
of this extreme variety. This photograph indicates, per- 
haps better than any other one I have, the reason I do not 
•advise the average player to attempt an extreme amount 
of break through the use of the American service. From 
the position as shown here the body, principally the back, 
must snap forward as the racket comes onto the ball; at 
the same time this must be accompanied with a twisting 
motion which I have heretofore described as the "rotation" 
at the waist. All this creates a tremendous amount of 
strain on the back muscles, one that very few players are 
physically capable of long withstanding. 



Figure 14 



COURTS 77 

at one end when the niggardly English sun 
makes an appearance. See that the light condi- 
tions on your court are, as nearly as possible, im- 
partial. Then be generous with the height and 
width of your back-stop nettings. There is noth- 
ing more irritating than to have to postpone a 
hot set to retrieve a necessary ball. It will repaj^ 
you to "wire" the ends of your court with care. 
Some courts even have a projecting top netting 
at an angle to the vertical back-stop in order to 
discourage smashes that bound abnormally high. 
Do what j^ou can to provide for like contingen- 
cies, and do not have your hack-sto'ps too near 
the hase-line. This is a common error in many 
otherwise correct courts. It maj'^ sometimes be 
a question, as in private courts, of the extent of 
the ground at one's disposal; but exhaust every 
possibility to get as much space between the 
base-line and the back-stop as possible. If in 
your court it is impossible for a player to extend 
himself to reach the boimd of a deep lob without 
colliding with the netting, then it is too near. 
The court should give one ample room to make 
deep "recoveries." Nothing clogs a good play- 
er's game like the constant feeling that the back- 
nets are cramping him. It has a definite psj^- 
chological effect. Twenty feet or so is a good 



78 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

distance. No trees should cast a shadow on the 
court or interfere in any way. Keep your court 
in good condition. A grass court cannot be 
used as constantty as a dirt court unless you 
have room to shift it around your lawn. The 
"upkeep" is more expensive. Beware also of 
worm-casts. A dirt or clay court should always 
.be swept and watered before it is rolled, and this 
whole process should be gone through frequently. 
The amount of "upkeep" you can afford will de- 
pend upon the finances of your club, or upon 
your own if it is a private court; but, if you ex- 
ercise discrimination in your times of play and 
can enlist the services of an experienced man to 
sweep, roll, and re-mark when necessary, it will 
highly repay you. Practise on a lumpy, ill- 
marked court is almost worthless. Asphalt or 
concrete courts have painted lines, are easily 
swept, and, with the proper drainage, dry almost 
immediately. A court should slope a little from 
the centre to the sides, though almost impercep- 
tibly, for drainage. The upkeep of asphalt 
amounts to almost nothing, but grass courts can- 
not be clipped too closelj^ and must never present 
a moth-eaten surface. The grass frequently has 
to be nursed back to spots that go bare, as re- 
sodding is not advisable. In general, the judi- 



COURTS 79 

cious use of cinders will help in draining a dirt 
or grass court. The most trampled parts of the 
court are bound to be in the vicinity of the net 
and around the base-line, and therefore these 
parts should be particularly well-drained. For 
good drainage the courts should be raised some- 
what from the surrounding ground if possible. 
Care should particularly be exercised in drain- 
ing and weeding a grass court. Clay courts dif- 
fer from dirt courts in having a subsoil of cin- 
ders rather than of unsifted gravel. A clay mix- 
ture supplies their cohesion. The top-dressing 
is clay instead of sifted gravel as in the other 
case. But one type of dirt or clay court shades 
into another, and there are various kinds of top- 
dressings. Get an expert to tell you what is suit- 
able, as well as to teach j^ou the proper construc- 
tion. Asphalt courts are hard on the feet, and, 
as I have mentioned, they Avill become soft with 
heat or crack with frost. Concrete is even worse 
on the feet, and hard on the eyes as well. Both 
this type and the disastrous cinder court wear 
out footwear and tennis balls very quickly; the 
latter practically tears them to pieces. The ini- 
tial expense of asphalt or concrete is, of course, 
a large item, despite the simplicity of their de- 
mands afterward in a suitable climate. ]Mv ex- 



SERVICE— IX 

A study and comioarison of tliis snapshot with Fig- 
ure 16 will show a slight variation of angle at which 
the body is set just about the moment the ball is struck. 
Also the ball is seen to be thrown up less directly above 
my body, though directly above my eyes, and in a position 
slightly in advance of that shown in Figure l6. This has 
caused less necessity for bending back at the waist and is 
clearly a service where I intend to use little or no break on 
the ball. This service will have a decided swerve in the 
-air and when it hits the ground will continue on the same 
general line of its flight. On the other hand, in Fig- 
ure 16 there is clearly an indication that I will put con- 
siderable twist on the ball, thus causing it to swerve in 
a similar manner as here, but when it hits the ground 
instead of continuing on in a general direction of its swerve 
it will "break back" from its line of fliftht. 



Figure 15 




Figure 15 



COURTS 83 

perience on wood is not very great. What little 
I have indulged in was very satisfactory, par- 
ticularly when tlie wood was covered with canvas. 
In fact, I do not believe a wood court is very prac- 
ticable without a canvas cover, or some other ma- 
terial to both deaden and slow the bound of the 
ball. 



SERVICE— X 

The moment of impact of the ball and racket in my 
American service. The ball has just been struck and it 
is at this point in the follow-through of the racket that 
the amount of twist the ball shall have is determined as 
well as its direction. Note the body bent back at the 
waist and the head thrown back in order to allow the racket 
to come sufficiently "from behind" the ball to produce the 
"kick" this service must have. It is interesting to note the 
position of my right leg in this picture, as it exemplifies 
the point in my text referring to how I avoid being foot- 
faulted, with the foot that swings in. Notice that the leg 
is bent sharply back at the knee, which thus throws the 
right foot behind tlie line at the time the ball is struck, 
even tliough a portion of the right leg may be over the line 
in the air. It is this point, which occupies so much more 
time to describe than it does to accomplish, that many foot- 
fault linesmen fail to note and I am guilty of frequent foot- 
faulting in their minds because they do not dis-associate 
my right leg and right foot. 



Figure 16 




Figure l(j 



CHAPTER IV 

THE SERVICE 

IX America the service is a more offensive 
stroke than ever before. Its vahie is much 
greater than formerly. It has become of in- 
creased importance to get the receiver or striker- 
oiit upon the defensive. The service has been 
compared to the smash, and indeed there is a dis- 
tinct similarity between these strokes. They go 
hand in hand, as is evidenced by the fact that 
in the case of most good servers 3^ou find a man 
who is a good smasher. A notable exception, 
however, is seen in the case of Norman E. 
Brookes, who possesses a peerless service but 
whose accompanying overhead work is extremely 
weak in comparison. Personally, I never think 
of my services and smashes in the same way when 
I am going about them. I am inclined to clas- 
sify each more individually as a stroke, mainly 
because of the finer element of timing that the 
smash demands. In many cases it is true that 
you use a very similar swing. For the service, 

87 



88 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

however, 5^011 are practically swinging on a sta- 
tionary^ ball. Tlie different types of service may 
be ronghly classified as the straight overhead 
forehand service, the forehand service with a cut 
to make the bound of the ball "break" in the gen- 
eral direction of the line of flight, and the fore- 
hand chop service, which is given back-spin that 
causes it to shoot low. Then there is the typic- 
ally American service, which I first knew as the 
"American twist," ( I shall go into the peculiarity 
of this service a little farther on) and two re- 
verse services of importance; the first being the 
reverse overhead cut, and tlie second that stroke 
so remarkably illustrated by Tliomas C. Bundy, 
namely tlie Reverse American. M)^ own service 
is both straight forehand, forehand cut, and 
American, with occasional dabblings in all the 
other varieties. In the main it has been the re- 
sult of years of slow development, except for the 
American twist, which I determined to learn as 
quickly as possible when quite young. 

In regard to a good service position, I should 
say, let it be one with your left foot (which is in 
advance provided you are right-handed; if left- 
handed, the converse of course is true) within 
about two inches of the baseline, and stand about 
two or three feet to the right (or left, according 



THE SERVICE 89 

to whether you are serving diagonally to left or 
right) of an imaginary continuation of the cen- 
tre line of the service courts. The left foot should 
be turned sideways, the outer edge of the foot be- 
ing nearest the line, at about a forty-five degree 
angle. These are good general directions, but, 
of course, I do not wish them to seem ironclad. 
Wilding, for instance, stands far behind the base- 
line when serving. ISly left foot, or Lindley 
jNIurray's right, is usually side-on to the line. 
In the Reverse American Service both feet are 
more nearly in a line parallel to the baseline. 
But these are differences that come after assay- 
ing one's tendency to foot-fault, after the devel- 
opment of new strokes, and so on. In general 
you will find the position I have outlined an easy 
and natural one for all save reverse services. 
To absolutely new players, I would say: Throw 
the ball high enough, and do not hit down. Most 
beginners do not throw the ball high enough or 
swing at all. They dab at it. Naturally you 
will not begin with confidence enough for an 
ample swing, but by all means begin to cultivate 
it as soon as you can, provided you foster your 
accuracy at the same time. Do not hit down, 
because tlie ball already is descending toward 
you. Try to get it over the net, with margin. 



SERVICE— XI 

The picture shows me a little further along in the follow- 
through of the American service. The flexed wrist position 
indicates my having imparted excessive twist on this par- 
ticular ball. The right leg is seen to be swinging in con- 
stituting the first stride in the rush for the net. At the 
same time it will be noted that my body is in the act of 
falling forward on the ball^ which thus has given more 
force to the stroke and also aids me in the start for 
the net. The right foot has swung in over the line now 
since the ball has been struck in the first stride toward 
the net. The picture illustrates how closely linked are 
the service and the act of taking the net. They must be, 
else valuable time is lost which is really figured in fractions 
of seconds, but it makes all the difference in the world 
sometimes whether you are three feet further in or not 
when the return of service reaches you at the net. 

The photograph was made during one of the matches in 
the Longwood Tournament of 1914 at Boston. 



Figure 17 




Figure 17 



THE SERVICE 93 

even with too great nmroin, ratlier than "hag" it 
constantly. The server need not necessarily be 
directly under the ball when serving. He will get 
better residts with the ball thrown up a trifle to 
the right. Still less is he directly under the ball 
in the reverse American service, as the ball is 
struck in this case slightly to the right, lower 
down, and in front of the player. But the Amer- 
ican twist demands that the ball be hit directly 
over the player in order to get the proper amount 
of spin and break. It caused quite a notable 
change in my swing and stance to first accom- 
plish the desired effect. Since I learned it, how- 
ever, I have gradually moderated my swing in 
order to bring about more forward speed and less 
break. 

Primarih% put all your efforts into getting a 
straight ball with fair pace that will travel over 
the net each time and land within the correct 
service court. Then cultivate a second ball that 
is not a "lollypop." Then try to place your 
serves in different parts of the service court. 
JNIaster these fundamentals before you attempt 
any great pace or any cut or spin whatever. As 
soon as you can, cultivate a slight amount of cut. 
An absolutely straight fast ])all is an extremely 
hard one to control. With exceptions, in the 



94 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

case of chop and reverse services, one should al- 
ways utilize his full height, hitting the ball at 
the top of the swing. 

In one word is the whole secret of an effective 
modern service. That word is "Control," You 
may admire the pace I personally get in mj^ 
delivery. I play according to my nature, but I 
have never desired pace exclusively. Sometimes 
pace is a distinct disadvantage, — often the re- 
fusal on the part of a young player to school him- 
self to control and his inability to resist the temp- 
tation to "knock the cover off the ball" has 
been absolutely fatal. Change of pace is one of 
the prime requisites of control. This is shown 
clearly by Norman E. Brookes, one of the great- 
est service players of the world, who, contrary 
to the general belief that he has a marvelous 
break in his delivery, accomplishes wonders with 
change of pace and crafty placing. William A. 
Earned, though never spoken of as a great ser- 
ver, was far from weak in this department; the 
reason being just his perfect control of the ball. 
Many fine players, in fact, have no remarkable 
break to their services, no wonderful speed; but 
just a free, easy delivery, with enough pace. 

Never serve without making up your mind, 
without some definite intention as to where j^ou 



THE SERVICE 95 

wish to put the hall and how hard j^ou are go- 
ing to hit it to accomplish some particular pur- 
pose. It is by no means essential to develop a 
service such as mine, or such as that of any other 
experienced player. Rather cultivate the method 
of delivery most natural to j^ou, swing as nature 
has built you to swing, provided there is nothing 
cramped or radically wrong about your stance. 
Practice, practice, practice imtil you can place 
the ball wherever you wish. Then cultivate suffi- 
cient speed so that if the ball is placed well you 
can throw your opponent off his balance. Vary 
that speed M'ith a lower one to catch your op- 
ponent off his guard. Try to keep him guessing 
always as to just where and just how hard 3'our 
next service is to come. After all, having at- 
tained control, there remains only the matter of 
making up your mind where you want to put 
the ball. Every new opponent will cause you to 
serve in a different way. You will have to ap- 
praise the weaknesses of each and play upon 
them. 

Learn to get your weight into the stroke as 
much as you can, fall forward as you hit and 
follow through, do not stand still and let your 
arm and reach do all the work. For great speed 
the swing should be as nearly a complete circle 



SERVICE— XII 

Illustrating a further stage in the follow-through of 
the severe American twist service than is shown in Fig- 
ure 17. Here also the body is seen to be falling for- 
ward and the right leg has almost completed its first stride 
toward the net. The picture was taken during one of my 
matches on the famous Center Court at Wimbledon^ Eng- 
land. 



Figure 18 




koto by American Press Association, N. Y. 



Figure 18 



THE SERVICE 99 

as possible, — though not, of course, one exactly 
returning — but do not try to swing back too far 
at first. The illustrations to this book will add 
the most important suggestions in all these mat- 
ters, and will repay careful stud5^ 

In general I may say that, under almost all 
circumstances in the game, the weight of the body 
should be distributed on the balls of the feet, 
for it is only in this way that you can get the per- 
fect body poise that is necessary in the proper 
shifting of positions. I know in my own case 
that there is hardly a time during the actual play 
that my weight isn't entirely off my heels. This 
is illustrated in a concrete way by the fact that 
my rubber-soled shoes will be worn through 
completely on the balls of my feet and the heels 
hardly show any signs of wear. 

It is very important to make a practice of get- 
ting your first ball over the net. If your first 
service is "in" it has a distinct psychological ef- 
fect upon your opponent. If you usually net 
your first ball your opponent gains confidence 
rapidly. There is a great tendency on the part 
of beginners to slow down noticeably upon their 
second ball. Sometimes the difference is ludi- 
crous. INIeanwhile your opponent has gained 
confidence and is in a position to treat that lady- 



100 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

like stroke in the Avay you will least care for. 
Cultivate a second ball of good pace, and use 
yoiu* head about it just as strenuously as about 
your first ball. But don't miss getting your first 
ball "in" if you can possibly help it. To give an- 
other and important reason for this, I should 
say that it saves a tremendous amount of en- 
ergy, for you can allow about 50% of 3^our en- 
ergy-expended to service alone. 

In serving you can only have one foot off the 
ground — in the case of right hand players it is 
the right foot — and this foot must not cross the 
baseline until after the ball is dispatched. You 
must fall into no such habit as that of taking a 
step or a skip before swinging or hitting the ball. 
For this you will be foot-faulted in any match, 
and it is easy enough to avoid. With the best 
players, in the rush for the net after serving, the 
great danger of foot-faulting is the swinging in 
of the foot that is in the air over the line before 
the impact of ball and racket. There has al- 
ways been considerable specidation as to whether 
I foot-faulted, or not. If snap-shot photo- 
graphs are a criterion I have j'-et to see one that 
shows me flagrantly offending in this respect. 
The various great players employ different indi- 
vidual methods of avoiding this tendencj^ Wil- 



THE SERVICE 101 

liams drags the toe of his right foot on the 
ground just hefore he swings in, thus retarding 
that foot for a fraction of a second and very 
neatly keeping within the rules. Brookes has 
acquired the hahit of noticeably holding his free 
foot till his racket has come through on the ball. 
Personally, I kick back my right foot from the 
knee as the right leg swings in, which thus places 
the foot itself, if not the entire leg, behind the 
line. Wilding stands back 18 " or more behind 
the baseline before his delivery. In a match 
game I generally follow every service to the net, 
as this is part of my general plan of attack. Get- 
ting to the net after serving is so much a part of 
the service itself that I never think about it. 
This brings me, however, to the next step in one's 
service. 

The stroke is completed, and the body should 
be thrown forward after the flight of the ball. 
In the modern game the server has a distinct ad- 
vantage in commanding the ensuing rally, pro- 
vided his service is at all effective; for if he has 
outmanoeuvred his opponent with pace enough 
and clever enough placing, he can usually reach 
the net, and hold it, before the other man. His 
stroke has thrown him into a "running start" be- 
fore his opponent has moved. He can either take 



SERJ'ICE—XIII 

Tlio |)ictiirc sliows mo serving; diiriii<>' a prncticc mntch at 
Forest Hills just prior to tlic Iiittriialionals. The camera 
has caught me at a very similar momeut to that shown 
in Figure 18, the racket head having progressed on 
the follow-through only a few inches further. One thing 
may be noticed in these service pictures, that the position 
of my head and the direction of my gaze clearly illustrate 
the necessity of keeping the eye on the ball. It can be 
judged even that the gaze, as is sometimes the case in a 
golf stroke, is fixed for an appreciable moment at the point 
where the ball was before it was struck. This picture 
shows that the ball lias sped a considerable distance and 
yet my eyes have not yet returned to the court. 



Figure 19 




© Underwood & Underwood. 



Figure 19 



■•i ru'winr ;i:4*r«-i 



THE SERVICE 105 

advantage of this or play back at the baseHne. 
But in all good modern American play the over- 
whelming rule is "To the net!" To waver some- 
where in mid-court between the two extremes is 
usually fatal, as you run a great risk of shots 
dropped at your feet, and cross-court shots pass 
much wider. But if you go in to the net to vol- 
ley, go in as fast as you can and volley from well 
within the service line. Of course there are times 
when it is foolhardy to rush for the net, when 
yoiu* service has gone wrong in some way, when 
you are up against deadly lobs which make noth- 
ing of your service, and so on. But with every 
new opponent you will have to meet and solve 
some such problem. Try, in general, to control 
your body so that, though full-tilt for the net, 
j^ou may yet reserve a minimum of power to turn 
for some passing stroke that tries to catch you 
badly out. Brookes has a fine command of the 
half -volley and low volley. But although he may 
not seem to come in as fast or as far as some 
players, in reality he gets like lightning to the 
exact spot for an effective return. In modern 
championship matches the service is almost in- 
variably won by the server for some time. It is 
extremely difficult to break through. Last j^ear 
at the West Side Tennis Club I did not break 



106 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

through Brookes' service until our thirty-first 
game. We had alternated winning our services 
up till then. And in large measure this condition 
is due to the fact that in fast modern tennis the 
server has the "jump" on the receiver in the rall3^ 
In England, their service as a whole has no very 
distinctive features. They merely employ the 
service as a means of getting the ball into play, — 
a very different method from that of the Ameri- 
can and the Australian who have incorporated 
it as a most important medium of attack. To 
remark on a few particular Americans, — Lind- 
ley Murray's service is described by many as of 
similar type to my own; Karl Behr's is a fore- 
hand cut; Larned's, a forehand; Wright's would 
classif}^ as a forehand cut; and Williams uses 
forehand and American. Parke, the Irishman, 
uses the forehand; Brookes has command of 
that, the forehand cut, and the American. Wild- 
ing more consistently uses the American service 
than almost any of the players mentioned, as 
there is excessive twist on nearly every ball he 
serves. 

As of particular interest to all tennis players, 
judging from the inquiries that are constantly 
made, I wish to attempt to analyze tlie true 
American service and the American reverse ser- 



THE SERVICE 107 

vice, before I close this section. A great deal, 
of course, may be gained from careful study of 
the pictures accompanying this text; but I am 
sure a few words will not seem amiss. JNIechan- 
ically speaking, the whole explanation of these 
services is that the axis on which the ball spins 
is tilted over at an angle of, roughly, 4*5 degrees. 
In the "American," this is produced by the racket 
moving across the ball both from bottom to top 
and from left to right at the same time. The ball 
has forward spin, from server to receiver, and 
also an impetus from left to right which makes 
it rotate on an axis tilted over as stated. It 
swerves in flight from right to left, but "breaks 
back" on the bound from left to right, — speaking 
from the server's point-of-view. The receiver 
sees it curving, naturally, from his left to his right 
and is surprised that it breaks directly opposite. 
The reason for this bound is, as ]Mr. Vaile has so 
well put it, that: "the ball is spinning in a plane 
which lies over at an angle of 45 degrees, and 
when it strikes the earth, it strives very hard to 
stay in the plane of its rotation." Also this ball 
takes an erratic curve upon breaking, and is par- 
ticularly liard to meet squarely with the racket. 
Bundy finely exemplifies the "Reverse Ameri- 
can." Anyone who saw him at Forest Hills last 



SERJ'ICE—XIF 

This photograph is a most excellent one, showing Thomas 
C. Buudy at the moment of impact during his famous 
reverse American twist service. Beyond all doubt, Bundy 
is the greatest exponent of this reverse service the world 
has ever known. He has incorporated it so completely 
in his game that he scarcely serves any other kind of ball 
and consequently has gained complete mastery not only 
of direction but the amount of break the ball shall have as 
well. Notice he throws the ball well out in front of him 
and to the right but very little above his head in height. 
His feet are quite close together, all the weight being on 
his toes, the left foot getting most of it, as the right is 
just about to leave the ground preparatory for the first 
step toward the net. His racket has come up on the 
ball from beneath and will slash across it in a direction 
toward the camera, finishing way across his body on 
the outside of his left thigh. This imparts to the ball the 
severe reverse spin that so perplexes players unaccustomed 
to this unusual variety of service. 

No, Bundy is not suffering from severe headache — this 
is merely a handkerchief device to absorb perspiration that 
gathers on the head and prevent it from trickling down 
into his eyes and onto his glasses. 



Figure 20 




Figure 20 



THE SERVICE 111 

year must have realized what fine control of it 
he has. He keeps the ball much more in front 
of him than one does in the "Overhead Reverse." 
Also he throws it up well to the right. The ball 
is hit as the racket goes up and across from right 
to left. Just the opposite things happen to it 
that occur in the "American Twist." It too 
breaks back on the bound, only in the opposite 
direction. Bundy can place this ball almost as 
accurately as other pla^^ers can their straight 
shots. He is the only expert I know who has 
gained complete mastery of a wonderfuUj'- diffi- 
cult stroke. 

The finish and follow through of the "Ameri- 
can Twist" service are made on the right hand 
side (left hand for Lindley INlurraj^ who is left- 
handed ) . I finish it with the top of my racket 
pointed almost vertically toward the ground and 
with its back face toward the net, as the pictures 
will show. In INIurray's finish the racket is more 
horizontal. The wrist is twisted over to the side 
next my body so that the under side of my fore- 
arm is turned to the right. Further than this my 
fist is twisted back to the right from my wrist so 
that the edge of mj^ racket is not toward the net, 
but its side. It is a finish that has simply worked 
itself out naturally for my physique. JNIurray's 



112 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

action is somewhat different. But we are both 
doing the same thing to the ball in shghtly differ- 
ent ways. Generally speaking, the other services 
finish "across the body," either low or high. This 
depends somewhat upon the physique of every 
individual person, and let no one diagram my 
start or finish of the serve and try to pour him- 
self into that mould. It will be disastrous. But 
the "American Twist" gets its final "work" on 
the ball through its peculiar finish. The true 
American service is an upward hit, a lifting 
stroke, — as much so as the forehand lift drive. 
The body must be more or less bent back, the ball 
squarely above the head or face ; the racket must 
meet the ball when the body is fully extended, 
and the stroke be timed so that the weight sliall 
shift naturally on to the left foot and so over on to 
the right again, in stride for the net, after the 
ball has gone (left-handers the opposite). You 
must remember in this stroke that it is extremely 
important to put what is known as "top" on the 
ball. You are trying to make it rotate from top 
to bottom, forward, away from j^ou.. At the 
same time you are giving it a tilted axis to ro- 
tate on by your racket moving from left to right 
with a twist of the wrist for a finish. But un- 



THE SERVICE 113 

less you get that "top" you have nothmg much 
more than an ordinaiy "Forehand Cut." 

A word in closing with regard to using a spin 
on your service. If you strive to get an excessive 
"break" your pace is bound to suffer; also you 
will sacrifice time and add appreciably to the 
drain on your strength. Unless you have excep- 
tional stamina, and I should but mildly recom- 
mend it even then, do not wed j^ourself to a ser- 
vice that "takes it out of you" too much. The 
best players no longer try for excessive break on 
the ball. I try to control the break of my serves, 
and do not allow it to hamper my speed. Also 
an excessive break is fatal to good placing of the 
service. Brookes, as I have said, is an example 
of the well-placed service, and he only tries for 
just enough spin. Finally, in match play I 
never use a great variety of services. Forehand 
with or without cut, and the American Twist 
are about all I ever attempt. It is quality that 
counts, and placing. 



RECEIVING— I Figure 21 

My partner is serving in a practice doubles and the 
camera has caught me in a receiving attitude at the net 
that is adopted just before the ball goes into play. This 
is a moment of uncertainty in the game, and because of that 
the mind must be very much on the alert to grasp quickly 
the sequence of play after your partner has served. This 
is not entirely a mental attitude, for with this the body 
must be so poised, the feet so placed, and the racket so held 
as to permit of the greatest amount of freedom and celerity 
of movement the occasion demands. In other words, your 
physical attitude just before the point is played must in 
no way hinder the muscular response to the dictates of 
the mind; it must aid in every way possible. 

RECEIVING— II Figure 22 

Preparatory to receiving the service from around the 
baseline. In most respects this embodies the same con- 
ditions as described in No. I. As in No. I, the body is 
slightly stooped forward for the purpose of throwing the 
weight onto the balls of the feet. The feet are spread well 
apart — not too far, though, so that it represents an effort 
to start suddenly oiF one or the other — and the weight is 
about evenly distributed on either leg up to the moment 
the ball goes into play. The racket is cradled in the left 
]iand as this facilitates balance, a quick shifting of racket 
position, and grip change. 

RECEIVING— III Figure 23 

Receiving the service as in No. II, only the ball is just 
coming into play, and the weight has shifted onto the 
right leg, which would indicate that the service is to my 
forehand. The body has straightened up from the 
crouched position of the moment before, and the racket 
is about to leave the left hand for the draw back before 
the drive. The reason for the weight being shifted onto 
the right foot is to allow the left side of the body to pivot 
forward, thus advancing the left leg and shoulder more 
toward the ball, which allows for better driving position^ 
as explained in the forehand. 



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CHAPTER V 

RECEIVING, OR THE STRIKER-OUT 

IN receiving in general I endeavor to take the 
service at the top of its bound, or just be- 
fore. The higher the ball is, the more command 
you have of the opposite court. Brookes and 
Williams are the two great players who by pref- 
erence play a rising ball, that is a ball that has not 
reached the height of its bound, — a method I em- 
phatically do not advocate for the average player. 
To attain such accuracy as that of Brookes or 
Williams in this respect requires not only a mar- 
velously true eye but bespeaks long years of faith- 
ful practice. The player who strokes the ball on 
its rise has no time for deliberation. Accuracy 
must become a matter of second nature, but when 
once achieved it gives him a tremendous advan- 
tage over his opponent. He is enabled to return 
a service before his rival can get to the net ; con- 
sequently, he catches the server mid-way of the 
court and at a disadvantage. Melville H. Long, 
my teammate, and I, in our early matches with 

117 



118 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

Brookes were kept constantly volleying "off our 
ankles." No other player against whom I have 
competed could keep me so persistently out of 
set as the great Australian did then. 

Natiu'ally I have to take a great many balls 
on the backhand, but in a match game a player 
should always seek to play up to his strength, 
which generally is on his forehand, except in the 
case of a Pell, who practices just the opposite. 
He has tended toward neglecting his forehand in 
past years because of his greater backhand pro- 
ficienc}^ In practice, however, it is a great mis- 
take to "run around" the service, as it coddles 
}^our probable weakness. 

One should always be up on one's toes to fa- 
cilitate a quick and well-balanced shifting of po- 
sition. The racket is generally cradled in the 
left hand for a like reason. I get my racket well 
enough back to put some pace on the return, and 
also impart a certain amount of "top" to it. This 
makes the ball harder to volley because of its 
sudden dip, and also gives one more margin at 
the baseline. But I must repeat that it is well 
for the average player to "go easy" at first as to 
applying "top," and to strive primarily to meet 
the ball squarely with the middle of the racket. 
If the practice is to take the ball at the top of 



RECEIVING 119 

its bound — and this is by all means the better 
choice — the upper edge of the racket should be 
slightly in advance of the lower if the bound is 
of any height. The racket should be slightly 
turned over. For, of course, if the bound is of 
any height, the resulting stroke is in general 
direction downward, and any rise on the ball 
must be counteracted. 

The placing of a return should never be sac- 
rificed to pace and "top." Your placing will 
wholly depend upon your opponent's style of 
play, the opportunities open to you at the mo- 
ment, and other varying factors. Above all let 
there be no hesitation about what j^ou do. Your 
best play might be to drive the ball deep to your 
opponent's backhand, pitch it about at his feet as 
he runs in, or toss over his head if he is in fast, 
but it all depends upon what offers. Your op- 
ponent may have a particularly deadly back- 
hand; he may be very swift to follow his service 
in to the net ; his service may break very wide to 
your right, or vice-versa. First of all make sure 
of meeting the ball squarely with determination, 
and some purpose, whatever it may be. 

The greatest problem in receiving, however, 
is not anticipating the hind of serve or the hound 
of the ball that your opponent intends to use; 



FOREHAND— I 

Norman Brookes is here seen about to execute his fore- 
hand drive in the International matches at Forest Hills. 
The ball has arrived at the point at which it will be struck. 
The weight is being transferred from the left leg to the 
right as the racket comes through. Note the position of the 
feet and that he is standing sufficiently clear of the ball 
to allow a free sweep of the arm. Altogether^ this picture 
illustrates a well-nigh perfect forehand position. 

In the background is just a small glimpse of the huge 
throng that surrounded the match court; also the most 
excellent high green baize back-stops that afforded a per- 
fect background for the contestants. 



Figure 24 



RECEIVING 123 

it is primarily the direction that his service will 
take. If you have an inkling of this beforehand 
it is an invaluable asset in getting yourself "set" 
for the return. And here I have touched upon 
one of the most vital attributes that a tennis 
player who wishes to go beyond the average 
stage must possess: that of "anticipation." This 
is a peculiar attribute in that it can not be ac- 
quired through any amount of mechanical prac- 
tice no matter how diligent. It is purely men- 
tal; invaluable intuition that comes to a player 
generally as the reward of long and active study. 
Again it is wonderfully illustrated in the game 
of the great Australian, Brookes. To those who 
do not make a study of tennis an impression will 
be given when watching Brookes play that he 
only seems to be half trying, yet further observa- 
tion will reveal that he always gets there. He 
exercises a faculty that almost amounts to telep- 
athy in this department. On the other hand, dur- 
ing our singles match in 1909, after discovering 
in the first few moments of play that Brookes' 
service was dangerous not in its width of break, 
but in speed and placement, I bent my whole 
mental energy toward discovering something in 
the action or bearing of the Australian that would 
give me an inkling as to where he would place the 



124 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

ball. I found to my dismay that his physical ac- 
tion differed not one whit when he sent it close 
to the centre line from that when he sought to 
catch me out of balance by serving to the outer 
line. In both instances, too, his standing posi- 
tion was the same. I watched the direction of 
his gaze and found that, regardless of where his 
thoughts were centering, he would look far off 
to the right or left. Eventually I detected that 
almost at the moment of contact between racket 
and ball he would shift his glance to the direc- 
tion which he wished the ball to take. From that 
time on I watched his eyes up to the last possible 
instant of time left me — watched sometimes too 
long, in fact, and was caught out of balance for 
a clean ace. A match with Brookes resolves it- 
self at once into a battle of intuition with one to 
whom this faculty is a birth-right and whose 
sphinx-like face betrays no secret of the mind. 
Earned, the seven-times champion of America, 
and one of the greatest players we have ever de- 
veloped, is another striking example of "antici- 
pation." He always covered the court with the 
greatest apparent ease. You had the impression 
that the ball was coming to him instead of his 
going to it. As a matter of fact, on the majority 
of shots, he was at the given position a fraction 



RECEIVIA^G 125 

of a second in advance of the ball, and the rea- 
son he apparently showed no effort at reaching 
that position was because he started appreciably 
sooner than the ordinary player. Hence, one 
can appreciate how valuable it is to have some 
conception of where the ball is going before it is 
actually served. 

I think that most students of the game believe 
in the "Centre" theory, viz.: plaj-ing the centre 
of the court to lessen the angle of return. But 
its practical application never works out equally 
well with all opponents, — at least such has been 
my own experience. A very striking instance 
of this occurred in the most recent Davis Cup 
contest, in my matches against Brookes and 
Wilding. Against the latter, the "Centre" the- 
ory was invaluable in enabling me at the net to 
reach his ground strokes. Against Brookes, 
however, I cannot remember once being con- 
scious of it. Still less am I inclined toward this 
theory in the Service. As I think I have al- 
ready mentioned, the complete control of direc- 
tion for both centre and sidelines is of vastly 
greater importance. In singles, therefore, the 
"Centre" idea has its limitations, for naturally 
the striker-out cannot make effective use of it 
unless his opponent stays back. Even if he does. 



FOREHAND— 11 

A good deal of discussion has arisen over this picture 
of myself just before making a forehand drive. At the 
moment the camera caught me the position appears to be 
absolutely false, as evidenced by the advance of the right 
leg. However, on this particular shot I evidently was ad- 
vancing on the ball, and, had the camera been snapped a 
fraction of a second later, my left foot, which is seen here 
to be just leaving the ground, would have been advanced 
before the right, thus bringing my body around into the 
proper position before making the stroke. The drawn- 
back position of the racket indicates that I am going to 
get a ball that is to bounce somewhere near the height 
of my waist, which will probably result in a horizontal 
drive. It must be remembered, however, on an occasion 
such as this that the racket will not and should not come 
through on the ball before the left foot has been advanced. 
The awkwardness and lack of balance in attempting to 
make the stroke in any other way is apparent. 



Figure 25 




Photo by Paul' Thompson, N. Y. 



Figure 25 



RECEIVING 129 

I am a believer in more variation of the retin-n. 
In doubles, a great many more shots are played 
down the centre than in singles. This does not 
necessarily mean more frequent application of 
the "Centre" theory, for more often you play 
down the centre between the two men not to les- 
sen the angle of return, but because it is the best, 
and the safest, place to put the ball. 

The most usual return is cross-court, that is, 
across the center portion of the net rather than 
up the side lines. The reason for this is natural, 
for a player is apt to make a large number of his 
shots through the medium of least risk. Obvi- 
ously, playing over the centre portion of the net 
involves the least amount of risk both as to di- 
rection and elevation, for the net is lowest at this 
point. Xever try to smash a receive — that is, 
go for an ace — unless the service comes in such 
position that the element of missing-risk is con- 
siderably reduced. JNIany players are prone to 
go for difficult passing shots when off their bal- 
ance, and the chance against their scoring at such 
times is enormous. In the case of the volleyer 
running in, a favorite shot is to drive for his 
feet. However, this is practiced a good deal 
more in doubles than in singles. If a baseline 
man comes in slowly, he invites play around his 



130 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

feet, and consequently is rarely disappointed. 
As I have mentioned, I wish to correct any im- 
pression that Brookes comes in slowly. His run- 
in is of cat-like agility, and it was not so much 
playing his feet that concerned me in returning 
his service as it was getting the ball somewhat 
wide of his reach. To make another point, I 
-should not say it is a good general rule to always 
hammer j^our opponent's weaknesses unless, of 
course, your opponent has some very palpable 
one. It is better tactics to vary your attack, 
oftentimes even playing through your opponent's 
strength, and then returning to his weakness. 
Possiblj^ at the end of the match, if a summary 
could be made, you would find you had played 
the majority of yoin* strokes to his weakness, — 
but by no means a very large majority. Study- 
ing an opponent, ferreting out his strength and 
weakness is, of course, one of the keys to suc- 
cessful tournament play; but I believe that ef- 
forts in this direction before one is actually face 
to face with the man on the opposite side of the 
net, are so much time wasted. Instances are 
rare when one player can map out in advance a 
mode of campaign, as did Wright when he met 
Brookes at Melbourne, and adhere to it persist- 
ently with success. And Wright, great general 



RECEIVING 131 

that he Mas, would have ahandoned his first phiii 
very quickly if a better one had suggested itself 
as the match progressed. Like a skilled boxer, 
the tennis-player must try out his man by actual 
contact. If he possess the keen intuition neces- 
sary to premiership he will assimilate sub-con- 
sciously his opponent's tendencies in the first few 
exchanges. All previous ideas of play must be 
dropped the instant they prove faulty. The con- 
testant must be quick to grasp each possible ad- 
vantage that suggests itself as the match pro- 
ceeds. 

As to general atmospheric conditions, the sun 
and Avind oftentimes materially affect one's 
game; but in match-plaj^ these elements are 
rarely utilized by a true sportsman against his 
opponent, and furthermore the rules of the game 
as far as possible tend to equalize any hardships 
apparent; for instance, if the sun and wind are 
worse on one side than on the other, the rule for 
changing sides after the odd game prevents one 
player getting more than his share of unfavor- 
able conditions. In another instance, if a play- 
er's opponent must look directly at the sun to 
find a lob, a sense of good sportsmanship will 
usually prevail, and the other will not increase 
his lobs. "Xoblesse oblige" is the true spirit of 



FOREHAND— in 

This is a posed picture for the purpose of illustrating 
my grip for the forehand drive and the average position 
of the racket at the moment of impact. Note that the upper 
edge of the racket is slightly advanced toward the ball, 
which aids in producing the varied amount of top that I 
impart to all my forehand shots. 



FiGURK 26 




Figure 26 



RECEIVING 135 

the game, and no permanent advantage was ever 
gained by transgressing it. 

In closing, the basehne game is almost wholly 
a bygone in fast play. I shall cover, in "The 
Volley," the necessity for the striker-out no less 
than the server to get to the net and hold it 
whenever possible. The service and first return 
are really a duel for this prized position. 



FOREHAND— IV 

Another posed picture^ meant to show my forehand drive 
at the moment of impact^ together with the correct body 
and foot position on a ball that gives you ample time to 
set yourself for the stroke. When the racket was drawn 
back the left shoulder was pointed in the general direc- 
tion the ball was to take. As the racket came through 
to the position here shown, the body rotated at the waist 
so that the chest is now almost where the left shoulder was 
at the start of the stroke. 



Figure 27 




Figure J 



CHAPTER VI 

THE FOREHAND 

THE average player is naturally stronger on 
his forehand than on his backhand. In 
both strokes the position is sidewise to the net, 
and the ball should not be played too close, — pref- 
erably near arm's length. At the end of your 
reach you can make a full swing. Cramped ac- 
tion is fatal. Poor form in general is caused by 
the player falling into cramped positions. The 
ball should also be played a little in advance of 
the body. This does not mean, however, that 
you should reach forward before the ball is hit, 
as such a move would naturally ruin your swing. 
Neither should you allow the ball to get past 
your body before hitting it. It should be fairly 
opposite your body, but a trifle in advance. You 
should have your left shoulder pointed down the 
line of flight along which the ball is coming. In 
other words, the body, edge-forward, should be 
parallel to the line of flight of the ball. The 

swing should be free and natural, the weight at 

139 



140 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

first evenly distributed on the balls of the feet. 
In your swing back your right foot will bear 
most of it. This foot will be about parallel to 
the net; the left foot in advance and at some- 
what of an angle. The feet are about eighteen 
inches apart as a general rule. The weight will 
be transferred from the rear foot to the foot in 
front as the stroke is made, and a good player 
will be found "advancing on the ball." Your 
feet do not necessarily have to be perfectly sta- 
tionary, but it is essential that the stroke be 
"timed" accurately so that it gets the advantage 
of some body-weight and the proper loin rota- 
tion. It is well to have the forearm as much in 
line with the racket handle as possible when 
racket meets ball, but there is no hard and fast 
rule. 

I put a varjdng amount of "top" on all fore- 
hand strokes, depending entirely on the speed 
and depth I want the ball to have. The forearm 
principally imparts this spin to the ball, which is, 
of course, sent away rotating forward or "top 
first" from the striker. This makes the shot 
"dip" or "dive" rather suddenly, and when it 
bounds it goes faster than a straight drive. But 
exaggerated top will slow its flight. The drive 
is more of a sweep than a hit, as in golf, and the 



THE FOREHAND 141 

finish should be well after the ball and not pri- 
marily across the body. ]\Iy attention was once 

called to a lady player at -, a very good 

forehand shot, but her position was directly fac- 
ing the coming ball, and in her swing she did not 
turn her body at all, striMng directly against 
herself. Xeedless to say this is a "horrible ex- 
ample" of what to avoid. 

The steps to learning how to apply top are, 
first the vertical upward movement of the racket 
from below the ball and across it ; then the com- 
bination of this motion with a general forward 
movement of racket and arm ; third, whatever ad- 
ditional wrist-work comes naturall}^ and effec- 
tively. By a slight lifting of the racket at the 
moment of impact more or less top is im- 
parted, and its use certainly makes one's stroke 
easier to control. Wilding says that he likes to 
"feel the ball on his racket" before imparting this 
over-spin. Personally, I think the correct "feel" 
of the stroke has much to do with its success, but 
the racket must of necessity be at the same time 
moving forward and upward across the ball. 

In this connection the remarkable forehand 
grip of May Sutton (Mrs. T. C. Bundy) comes 
to mind. I should describe it as follows: In the 
case of the various great players I know, if, when 



FOREHAND— V 

This illustrates my follow-through on a forehand drive 
such as shown in Figure '27. It is in the short distance 
between these two racket positions that the greatest amount 
of power is imparted to a forehand drive. It is also the 
time the direction of the ball is controlled. Note here that 
the body has completed its rotation at the waist, thus im- 
parting a certain amount of body weight to the ball 
through this rotary movement of the back nuiscles. 



Figure 28 







4 

Photo by Paul Thompson, N. Y. 





Figure 28 



THE FOREHAND 145 

holding their racket for a forehand drive, they 
should extend their arm as though to show you 
their grip, the head of the racket would be seen 
to be either edge up, or with the upper edge 
slightly inclined toward the ball. In the case 
of ]Mrs. Bundy's grip, on extending the arm in 
the same manner, the upper edge of the racket is 
so far inclined toward the ball that it virtually 
amounts to holding the racket face-up. In 
order to laj^ the face of the racket back so as to 
allow impact with the ball, her wrist is turned 
back and under. As the stroke goes through, and 
at the moment of impact, the wrist flicks around 
into its natural position. In this manner the 
excessive over-spin is imparted. I do not know 
of any other great players who use this extreme 
hold. Manj^ however, use its modifications. 
William Johnston, whose forehand commands a 
great deal of respect, is among these. My own 
forehand grij), as the pictures will show, is of the 
same nature. 

What is known as the English forehand 
ground stroke is like a sliced drive in golf, that is, 
instead of top being applied at the moment of 
impact, the racket is drawn across the ball, im- 
parting slice. For this stroke it is especially 
important to be at a proper distance from the 



FOREHAND VI 

Tliis w/is sii.M|)|)('(I oil tlic inntcli court at Forest Hill.s 
(luring Llic lnl»riialioiial malclK's, and illustrates tlu^ com- 
pletion of my forehand drive on a high bouncing ball. 
On n ball that comes like this it is naturally more difficult 
to get a giHvat amount of jxjwct into the stroke because the 
rotation ol" the body at the; waist is (eliminated to a large 
extent at this elevation, and the only body ])()wer that can 
b(; imparted is through weight transference from the right 
leg to the Uvft as tlue racket arm goes through. Observe 
that the w(eight is entirely oH" my heels, being distributed 
on tlu! balls of the feet instead, as it should be. 



FiGuuio 29 




Figure 29 



THE FOREHAND 140 

ball in order not to be bampered. Tbe ordinary 
ground stroke does not impart either top or 
slice, and is a perfectly straightforward under- 
hand swing, the racket being started back at 
about shoulder-height; the w^eight at first (as in 
the other strokes) being on the right foot, and 
shifted as the swing goes through with a 
straightforward finish. In the ordinarj^ fore- 
hand drive the finish is somewhat more across the 
body, and, naturally, the more horizontal the 
stroke is the more exaggerated such a finish be- 
comes. Horizontal drives do not get as effective 
a lift. 

IMost emphatically one should always follow 
through. I said I should enlarge upon this point, 
and certainly in these few words lies one of the 
most fundamental principles of the game. In 
almost every game of science this principle must 
be mastered in order to attain big results. In 
tennis it consists of the ability to let the racket 
go through to the natural completion of the 
stroke, and not to hold it up during any stage of 
the swing immediately after impact of ball and 
racket, a common and fatal tendency. Some call 
it "letting the racket do the work." Throughout 
all the strokes in tennis, variations of the same 
principle are ever present. One exception is in 



FOREHAND— VII 

Here is a very good illustration of my forehand return 
of service which was taken at Wimbledon, England, during 
our matches there in 1913. Quite an idea can be gained 
from this picture of the tenseness, concentration and power 
that must be put into a stroke of this sort. During the 
actual execution of the stroke every muscle must be alert 
and resjjond as spring steel. Even the left arm and hand, 
which only served as a guide and balance, have become 
rigid and so tense during the actual making of the stroke 
that the cords and muscles can be plainly seen in relief. 
This is a good time to observe, however, that this tenseness 
must only exist during the making of the stroke. Utter 
relaxation at all other times is of primary importance in 
resting the muscles and conserving the energy. The racket 
here has completed its follow-through and with it the body 
has rotated at the waist. For ideal driving position the 
left foot might be a little further advanced and the feet 
not spread quite so far apart, but it must be remembered 
that this is a return of service during a match of vital im- 
portance and more often than not at such times you are 
not permitted the time or opportunity to perfectly set 
yourself for the stroke. 

A glimpse may be had m the background of the great 
crowd that thronged the enclosure around one of the 
world's most famous match courts. Also may be seen the 
wear and tear on the turf just back of the baseline. Most 
of this wear comes about through serving;. 



Figure 30 




Figure 30 



THE FOREHAXD 153 

the stop-volley, ^^llen you enijjloy methods di- 
rectly opposite to the follow-through with a \\(^\v 
to (leadening the ball's flight, like the bunt in 
baseball. But the follow-through exists in all 
other volleys, and is of primary importance. It 
is this fact that a great many net players fail 
to realize. If they think at all about the i'oUow- 
through, they associate it only with strokes that 
require a full arm swing. The follow-through 
on the volley is only a matter of inches, yet in 
just this small, but im])ortant, feature hundreds 
of volleyers fail. Their volley stroke is in the 
manner of a ])oke, — (jiiick stabs here and there at 
the ball, that carry no weight behind them be- 
cause the racket is checked immediately on im- 
pact instead of the head being allowed to go 
through in line with the ball's flight for the small- 
est fraction of a second after it is struck. I shall 
recall this to your mind when I treat of the Vol- 
ley itself, but it illustrates the great importance 
of "following through." 

Another very important point in the master- 
ing of ground strokes is the concealment of di- 
rection ; that is, being able to make a shot straight 
down or across-court, as the case may be, so that 
it is not perfectly ol)vious to your opponent 
which N'oii intend. '^Fhe most common method of 



FOREHAND— nil 

I said in describing forehand Figure 80 that time was 
not permitted me to perfectly set myself for that drive. 
In this picture I have been given that opportunity and 
the poise and balance of the resulting stroke is easily ap- 
parent. Perhaps the reason for it in this case is that the 
picture was taken during the warm-up just before my 
match started against Brookes, at Forest Hills, Long Is- 
land, in 191 i- At such times the ball nearly always comes 
in the desired position, for there is never any attempt on 
the part of either player to put it out of the other's reach. 

Two of the linesmen may be seen in the background 
taking their positions, and the crowd are gradually settling 
into place before the match is on. It isn't that some of 
them fear rain — more that the sun's rays must be reckoned 
with^ for they surely were penetrating on this day. 



Figure 31 



THE F()11P:IIAND 157 

conceal in<>' direction is tlie slii>'lit turn ol' tlie wrist 
a fraction of a second before, and during, tlie 
impact of the ball and racket. This wrist varia- 
tion is so slight and delicate that it is difficult 
to adequately describe. In fact, it is one of 
those finer points of finish in stroke technique 
that gcnei'ally only come in advanced stages of 
development. 

"Good length" in ground strokes is worth 
cultivation, but when playing against sound, ag- 
gressive net players, one never gives very much 
thought to his length; then it is placement and 
kee])ing the ball low thatfigure most prominently. 
Ijcng'th is only important when your opponent 
is in the back court. However, the average 
player, when developing his ground strokes, 
should first give his attention to the length he is 
getting, as the short angle game is considerably 
easier to acquire. In general, swing easily and 
naturally and do not attempt too much at first. 
Watch your position and train your eye to take 
the ball at the right distance. As in the serve 
do not try for top and pace too soon, and, 
when you acquire these, keep them well in con- 
trol. Your forehand might be called your most 
natural stroke, and a trained eye and timing 
sense will work wonders. 



FOREHAND— IX 

The plane of force is every varying through which the 
racket and arm travel in making all the different forehand 
shots that arise. This is due of course to the fact that the 
ball scarcely ever comes twice alike^ and you must adapt 
your stroke each time to a new situation. In this case, it 
has been necessary for my racket to finish over my left 
shoulder. Evidently the ball was a dee}) one, for I was 
forced to hit it with almost all the weight on the right 
leg. It can be seen that the weight transference has not 
been quite completed, and yet the stroke has. This form 
of follow-tlirough would tend to indicate that I have played 
a cross-court shot rather than straight down the line, as 
the racket would naturally finish more across in front of 
the body for a cross-court drive than for one straight down. 



Figure 32 




Figure 32 



CHAPTER VII 

THE BACKHAND 

STROKES on the left-hand side of a right- 
handed player, and vice-versa, are taken 
in what might be called the most "nnnatural" 
positions in tennis. The back-swing is much 
more hampered than in any other stroke. The 
strength of the wrist is much more in demand. 
The back is more tin'ned toward the coming 
ball. The racket meets the ball farther from 
you. All these things make the ordinary back- 
hand stroke an awkward one, and in the early 
stages of one's game it is naturally a defensive 
stroke. Speaking in general it remains in the 
nature of a defensive stroke in most English play. 
This can somewhat be accounted for by the Eng- 
lish principle of wrist below racket-head (which 
causes an angle between the racket-handle and 
the forearm), and by the fact that there is a no- 
ticeable lack of top on the English backhand. 
If anything, the tendency is the other way, and 
they impart more or less backspin to the ball, 

161 



162 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

which causes it to "float" in the air with a flight 
that is very straight and true. Because of this 
such a stroke is the easiest of all to volley, and 
the hardest with which to command any very 
great variet}^ of angles as the ball does not drop 
quickly enough. The Doherty Brothers were 
largely responsible for the modern English style. 
Needless to say their own backhand work was 
far from weak, and as I have mentioned before, 
I have met players with the English type of 
backhand who made it a stroke not to be trifled 
with. Freutzheim, the German player, is an ex- 
cellent example. For this reason I recognize its 
value and should hesitate to inveigh against it. 
There is no doubt, as far as keeping the wrist 
low and the racket horizontal are concerned, that 
this manoeuvre checks one's speed when running 
in for low backhand vollej^s. Nevertheless, the 
more vertical racket in such an instance is more 
dangerous to control. 

The backhand has become a beautifully offen- 
sive stroke in modern American tennis. T. R. 
Pell is probabl}^ the most striking exponent of 
this. He can hit with equal ease from all po- 
sitions, and has sufficient speed combined with 
wonderful accuracy. His stroke-form is perfect. 
C. P. Dixon, the old English champion, and J. 



THE BACKHAND 163 

C. Parke, the Irishman who beat Brookes at 
Melbourne, used the "Doherty" backhand style 
which Pell does not favor. He plays with 
racket-handle and forearm in the same "plane 
of force" as Vaile would put it. And certainly 
his is a style worth everyone's cultivation. Gen- 
erally speaking, the English style of backhand 
favors the use of the full arm in vollej^s on this 
side, while the Australians depend more upon 
the forearm. But, with the latter, the body- 
swing also has free and full play, and their 
weight is behind the stroke. As to the position 
of the feet, the right side is naturally turned 
toward the net, and the right foot should be in 
advance of the left when the stroke is played. 
In a hot rally one may be caught out of po- 
sition, and, if the left foot is in advance, the 
stroke is naturally hampered considerably. But 
this detail of keeping the left leg back out of the 
w^ay really comes under the matters that are gov- 
erned b}^ subconscious control. As your stroke 
develops such things automatically take care of 
themselves. The force of the average backhand 
is in the elbow and forearm, but a rigid wrist 
is required. The finish should be strong and 
correct. In regard to the use of the thumb up 
the handle, I do not employ this grip person- 



FOREHAND— X 

This was taken during my match against Stanley Doust 
at the West Side Club in New York in 1913 during the 
preliminary round of the Davis Cup Matches against Aus- 
tralasia. Doust possesses a very puzzling forehand cut 
service of which he has remarkable control. It takes a 
decided swerve in the air and when it hits the ground 
the ball has a low shooting bound which is very difficult 
to handle accurately. On this occasion he has served to 
the extreme side-line, thus forcing me several feet off the 
court to handle the return. Indication of the low bound 
above mentioned may be determined from a study of the 
position of my racket at the finish of my forehand shot. 
The stroke was evidently a quick lift, as the racket has 
finished directly over my right shoulder. 



Figure 33 



THE BACKHAND 167 

ally, but from observation should be inclined to 
advocate it if it comes naturally to the player. 
It has never fitted in with my grip for other 
strokes, and tlie change for me is so unnatural 
that I have never cultivated it. Most players, 
however, use the thumb up the handle and feel 
that it assists in guiding the direction of the shot. 
The inclination of the racket varies, of course, 
with one's intention. Practice soon establishes 
the angles at which the ball will rebound in cer- 
tain ways. Just as we calculate angles in bil- 
liards, so the trajectory of the approaching ball 
in tennis should be borne in mind ; and common- 
sense will tell how the racket should be angled 
to counteract whatever spin the ball has and re- 
turn it to the spot desired. 

If a category is wanted, I should say that 
there are four distinct methods of executing a 
backliand stroke. One is the English backhand, 
second the stiff -arm block type, third the free- 
arm type where elbow, forearm, and wrist op- 
erate together to give top to the ball, — and 
last the slice type where underspin is imparted. 
I shall at once admit the weakness of my own 
backhand. For a great many years I used the 
fourth type above-mentioned. It has very def- 
inite hmitations, and as soon as I reached larsfer 



168 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

competition I realized that a radical change 
should be made from under-spin to a trifle over- 
spin. As the under-spin was accomplished by 
a slight flick of the wrist, I encountered much 
difficulty. My wrist is even now too flexible 
just before and during impact. This is a very 
natural fault, as wrist flexibility flgures most 
prominently in nearly every other stroke I make. 
At present my own backhand is quite inade- 
quate, however. I cannot control it properly 
when I hit it hard enough to be effective. It 
is not my idea of the range of a perfect back- 
hand that it be as effective as the forehand. 
But an adequate backhand should be a good 
offensive stroke when the ball comes in proper 
position, and also a stroke whose direction 
may be controlled. Beyond this it should be 
soundly defensive, with control of the lob or toss, 
and strong in volleying power. The photo- 
graphs in this book should be studied particu- 
larly for instances of varjang backhand grips. 
The easy, graceful shots in perfect stroke-form 
will be easily distinguished. The stronger and 
surer grip will show in the poise of the player. 
Each individual will have to work out his own 
method of changing grip from the forehand. 
The hand in which the racket is cradled may 



THE BACKHAND 169 

prove an aid, but the natural turning over of 
the forearm, bringing the same face of the 
racket in use for the backhand as is used for the 
forehand, will probably solve this problem. The 
wrist should be made as strong as possible, and 
the ball hit with courage and conviction. I often 
smash a ball backhand, but only balls that come 
high and rather slow, with a somewhat flat tra- 
jectory. I volley an equal percentage on both 
sides. As I remarked in The Service, do not 
practise "running around" a stroke to your back- 
hand. In practise at the present time I en- 
deavor to take the majority of ground strokes 
on my worst side. It is not as pleasant, but it is 
the only w^ay to learn. 



FOREHANB—XI 

This picture should be viewed in connection with Fig- 
ure 24, as it shows the progression of Brookes' forehand 
drive to the follow-through stage on the same stroke. The 
ball has just been struck, in fact it has only left the racket 
a few feet and may be distinguished in the left centre of 
the photograph as a white blur. Brookes' weight has not 
been entii-ely transferred onto the right leg and the stroke 
is being completed in faultless form. Notice that the upper 
edge of his racket is advanced, thus indicating his having 
imparted a certain amount of "top" to the ball. 

The photograph was made during the warm-up, just 
before Brookes and myself started on our match. Stand- 
ing behind the green baize just to the left of the ball boy 
with the white hat is Robert D. Wrenn, president of the 
National Lawn Tennis Association, who, having completed 
the many irksome duties that fall to the lot of the referee, 
is about to settle in a chair on the sidelines among other 
interested spectators. 



Figure 34 



CHAPTKU VTTT 

THE VOLLEY 

Wrril tlic foniicr section in mind, T may 
say immediately that it is by no means 
advisable to favor either one side or the other 
in the Volley. The Volley is supposed to block 
or ^ive the quietus to all strokes attacking the 
player at or within the service line. The racket 
must be equally a<>ile to ^et the ball on either 
side. \\niene\'er ])ossible the volley should be 
taken well within the service line. I f ])layed 
too far b;ick tlie b;dl comes to your feet. This 
involves the stoop for correct position, checking 
one's run in, which I have already s])()ken of. 
There are cases, ol' coui'se, when it is best to 
volley even then. In such cases you must make 
the best of it. But by all means do not be 
caught back of the service line if you can i)os- 
sibly help it. T wish to recall to your mind here 
that the net position is of supreme im])ortance 
in the modern game. Therefore, command of 

the volley is absolutely essential. Also I would 

173 



174 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

remind you of what I liave said in a former sec- 
tion concerning the follow through of volley 
strokes. Tliis is a much-neglected and most im- 
portant principle. It calls for agility to recover 
})ositi()n for the next stroke in a hot rally, hut 
also it is the onlj^ way to make a volley shot 
truly effective. It should he constantly prac- 
tised. 

In America and Australia vollej^ing has en- 
tirely superseded the old-style method of base- 
line ])lay. learned was ecpially superb in both 
positions; yet when he was "sitting tightest," he 
was up to the net like a cat when the chance pre- 
sented itself, and at the net he camped. All the 
present-day stars, with the possible exception of 
AVilding, the Australian, who is not always eager 
to take the net, strive constantly for this po- 
sition. Richard Stevens, a famous back-court 
player in his day, developed the baseline game 
to a nicety. He could return anything and 
everything with such precision that the linesmen 
had to be constantly on the alert. No man of 
his time achieved more remarkable accuracy. 
Yet the players of his generation smothered 
Stevens' game by moving up to the net, and he 
was beaten constantly by men whose accuracy 
could not approach his. On the Continent and 



THE VOLLEY 175 

in England there are still some very strong base- 
line players, one or two that are not only ca- 
pable of being- champions but really are and have 
been in that class, for a number of years. I refer 
in particular to the great Irish player, Parke, 
and the peer of all German players, Freutzheim. 
The l)ody of the game of these two players is 
composed of offensive ground strokes. Neither 
one is known very often to force the net play. 
However, these two great players are unusual 
exceptions and one finds both in England and 
on the Continent a great many who possess 
strong ground strokes and have rested con- 
tent with this amount of development; thus, 
though they are not exactly "back numbers" on 
accoimt of it, their ability is limited to barely 
first-class tennis. 

There is a basic position in the court for vol- 
leying. It is the one a player leaves when jump- 
ing to one side or the other for different shots. 
It might be described by students of angle as a 
position opposite the angle formed by the pre- 
ceding shot with the length of the court. The 
volleyer moves in toward the centre of this angle. 
In the majority of shots this centre is a])proxi- 
mately the centre of the court. This is particu- 
larly true when one takes the net after a service, 



Warming up for the doubles match against the Australa- 
sians in the Davis Cuj) contest of lf)ll'. IMy partner, 
Bundy, nmy he seen just bai-k of me lurnino' lo receive a 
ball from the boy. Tiie Coreliand stroke I am here mak- 
ing is very similar in type to that of lirookes' in Fig- 
uri\s 'J |. aiul .'vk The racket is just about to come onto 
the ball, which has arrived at the point where it will be 
struck. Notice that that position is slightly in advance of 
my body and that I am standing suflicicntly clear of the 
ball to allow my right aruv to e(»mi> through with jjcrfcet 
freculom. Simultaneously with my racket the weight is 
coming forward onto the left foot from the right, thus im- 
parling that body- force which is such an im|)ortant factor 
of |)OMer in a stroke of this sort. If all my forehand 
strokes i-ould be mndi" in as true form as this one 1 should 
be wt^ll I'onleul. I'nfortunately . wlu-u llu^ ball is in actual 
play it lioes not arrive so often in this made-to-order 
manner. 



FunniK S!^ 




Figure S5 



THE VOLLEY 179 

and is clearly illustrated by a grass court that is 
badly worn. You will notice on such a court 
that where service line and centre line meet there 
is always a bald spot, and you will further ob- 
serve that, in taking the net, a player usually 
runs forward to exactl}^ this position, from which 
he then changes his direction to one side or the 
other as the case may be. 

As a rule it becomes more difficult to volley 
a ball the lower it is taken. A ball coming 
straight at one, breast-high, puzzles many play- 
ers to handle offensively'. But others prefer a 
close ball, and will move into a position in which 
they must take the ball directly in front of 
them, rather than handle it at one side. The 
Australians particularly are verj^ adept at this 
volley method. As to placing the ball, there 
can be no definite rules, but I favor mixing one's 
volleys considerabh^ plajdng some short, some 
long, and some with a wide angle. This nat- 
urally depends upon your own judgment and 
your own individual opponent. A low hanging 
chop, for instance, is difficult for many players 
to meet, but a Parke or a Brookes would make 
it quite inefi'ective. Under ordinary conditions 
for a normal volley my own position is between 
five and ten feet inside the service line. As I 



FORE HA ND—XIII 

Another glimpse of the famous centre court at Wimble- 
don, England, during one of my matches there in 1913. 
This is a forehand return of service during the actual play 
and I have not been permitted the opportunity to perfectly 
set myself for the drive, due probably to a fast, unexpected 
service to my forehand. Contrast this picture v^'ith Fig- 
ure 35. It will be seen that if I moved at all I had 
to move sidewise onto the ball and was given insufficient 
time to properly advance my left leg coupled with a 
body-turn which would bring me more "edge on" to the 
ball, as in Figure 35. Notice that the follow-through on 
this particular stroke is more in the nature of a lift, which 
was doubtless caused by the service taking a low, fast^ 
shooting bound. 



Figure 36 









Photo by Paul Thompson, N. Y. ^K^^HHH^Rt 



Figure 36 



THE VOLLEY 183 

have observed many players, some of the first 
class, it appears to me that many fail to appre- 
ciate the importance of what we might term the 
"in and out" position for volleying, as well as 
the ability to move sidewise. Such players are 
constantly being forced to make a high percen- 
tage of low volleys Avhich are admittedly more 
difficult, whereas if they would study the proper 
times to close in nearer the net their troubles 
would vanish. The volley should not be made 
flat-footed. Otherwise, every time you move, two 
motions will be involved ; first the one of getting 
off your heels, and then the position change. Un- 
less the weight is evenly distributed upon the 
balls of the feet you will be badly handicapped. 
As to the fear of lobs, overhead w^ork has always 
come to me verj^ naturally, and I, personally, 
cannot remember any time when such strokes 
bothered me; but every individual player must 
use his judgTiient as to the risks he can afford to 
take, and it all depends on how effective the lobs 
of your opponent are. If he gets you chasing 
back and forth, you are gone. Better stick to 
the net until you find that he is entirely too ac- 
curate at putting them inside court but out of 
your reach. Then formulate some opposing 
campaign. 



FOREHAND—XIV 

Champion Williams at the finish of one of his forehand 
drives. One wonders in studying a finish like this where 
the remarkable power comes from that he gets on his 
drives. As I have said elsewhere Williams is the only 
great player who may be classed with Brookes in the art 
of playing the rising ball. It is because he stands in so 
close to the ball that he uses what we might style as a 
"short-arm" stroke. In the first place, he hasn't time to 
take a full-arm swing and, in the second place, having 
judged the ball correctly and timed it accurately, he does 
not need such a swing, as the force of his opponent's stroke 
is absorbed by his own and enters immediately as a factor 
governing the speed of the return. Thus it is that the 
faster the shot that Williams plays on the rise the faster 
it is liable to be returned. Coupled with the above-described 
element of force that enters into Williams' ground strokes 
is also the whippy flash of the arm and racket onto the 
ball with a remarkably rigid wrist at the moment of 
impact. The wrist must be unusually firm in his style of 
play, otherwise the force of the oncoming ball would be 
almost certain to deflect the racket head if the ball struck 
the slightest bit off centre. He also possesses form that 
is almost perfect, and it is rarely that you see him make 
a shot from a false position. 



Figure 37 




Figure 37 



THE VOLLEY 187 

In regard to the various types of volleys, I 
have already dealt with the stop-volley used so 
effectively by Beals Wright. Karl Behr is an 
exponent of another particularl}^ difficult va- 
riety : the drive volley. I know of few other play- 
ers who approach any degree of certainty with 
it, and I most heartity condemn its use for the 
average player, as it is a stroke that, at best, is 
difficult to control. My own style of volley is 
the stiff er-wristed type, — that is the wrist is iron- 
firm at the moment of impact. Brookes posses- 
ses great command of well-angled volleys exe- 
cuted with a flick of the wrist at the moment of 
impact. A chop volley is often used when you 
wish to impart a faster, lower bound to the ball. 
I make use of it a good deal. It requires, how- 
ever, more precision of stroke and a more flexible 
wrist than the usual block type. The half-volley 
is really more a ground-stroke. It is like a 
drop-kick in football, or a "pick-up" in base- 
ball. The racket strikes the ball just as it has 
barely risen from the ground. It is a very dif- 
ficult stroke, and I should not advise the aver- 
age player to spend much time on it, but in the 
advanced stages of development it can be very 
useful in helping one out of many a predica- 
ment, and for general defensive purposes. One 



188 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

of the best half-vollej^ers I know of is the Eng- 
hsh veteran Dixon. Personally, I have occa- 
sion for this stroke quite often, although Ameri- 
cans do not use it nearly as much as do the ])lay- 
ers of other countries. This shows more par- 
ticularly in their doubles play. The half-volley 
is hardly ever an aggressive stroke. There is 
only one player 1 know who makes it so by pref- 
erence. This is Caridia, the English player. 
When one gets to the stage of being able to 
place the half-volley consistently he may well 
be proud. Dixon has accomplished it. I often 
use the lob-volley, but this is another stroke that 
I should not advise the beginner or even the 
average player to spend much time in culti- 
vating. It is not one of the major strokes of the 
game, and, on the other hand, is most difficult to 
acquire. From the poiut of view of the ])rac- 
tised volleyer's opponent, 1 may say that it is 
better to forestall such a man by taking his serv- 
ice on the rise, or at latest at the top of its bound. 
Eater than this he will have had time to estab- 
lish himself at the net and thus gain a great 
advantage. I have mentioned Erookes in this re- 
gard, and R. N orris Williams. 



CHAPTER IX 

LOBS, CHOPS, AND SPINS 

THE lob, except perhaps for the smash, 
easily leads the tennis-strokes neglected by 
the average player. Like tlie half-volley, it is 
almost entirely a defensive stroke, and ^et it is 
very difficult to master. I am making more use 
of it in late years than I used to, for I have dis- 
covered, through study of opponents, that a 
properly-timed lob is every bit as effective, and 
sometimes more so, than a beautiful passing 
sliot. When I was substituted for Larned against 
Brookes at Christchurch,N.Z.,in 1911, my slight- 
ing of tlie lob told against me. I have a greater 
respect for it now. Personally, I am a believer 
in practising a lob with the idea of getting the 
proper length and lieight, and of acquiring the 
"feel" of such a stroke. Good, consistent lob- 
bing is largely a matter of "touch," — M'hich 
means the feel of the wrist and arm when the 
right amount of force is behind the ball. I do 
not believe in putting very much cut on a lob. 

189 



FOREHAND— XV 

Here we have Wilding's full-arm follow-through on his 
forehand drive. Wilding plays a very deliberate stroke at 
the top of the bound and it is interesting to note and 
compare the wide differences in this siy\e with that of 
Williams. We have also a fine examjDle here of the rota- 
tion of the body at the waist to give added force to the 
stroke. At the start of this drive Wilding's left shoulder 
was advanced toward the coming ball and here we see at 
the finish of the stroke that his body has turned to the 
extent of even bringing his right shoulder through in ad- 
vance of the left. 

A white band will be seen around Wilding's right wrist. 
This was a device with which he contrived to absorb the 
perspiration that gathers on the forearm and trickles from 
the wrist into the hand;, thus causing the grip to be in- 
secure. Whenever tennis played where humidity exists in 
the atmosphere this is a very annoying condition to be 
overcome. I believe Wilding later gave up the use of a 
wrist bandj not being entirely satisfied with its success. 



Figure 38 




Figure 38 



LOBS, CHOPS, AXD SPINS 193 

A simpler and more accurate method of making 
the ball drop straighter is to lob higher. Put- 
ting cut on a ball simply adds an element of un- 
certainty to the shot. The high, deep lob is nat- 
urally the ideal one. However, there are ex- 
ceptions when you wish the ball to bound away 
faster after it has passed over your opponent's 
head, the idea being to prevent his having time 
to rini aroinid the ball. Such a lob is played with 
a flatter trajectory, just beyond the opponent's 
reach. I should say lobbing is more in use now 
than formerly, and has become more of a fine 
art, chiefly for this reason. It is because of the 
increased amount of net playing that we see an 
increased amount of lobbing. Unquestionably 
the best lobber I know of is Beals Wright. Nat 
Brown, one of Southern California's stars, is an- 
other exponent of this style of stroke. Wright 
is the only player I have known who has con- 
verted the lob into an offensive stroke. He has 
done this by cleverly mixing his short, chop 
strokes by which he draws his opponent closer to 
the net, and then, apparently with the same 
stroke, playing a high, deep lob. Thus the lat- 
ter often sails over his opponent for a clean 
earned point. He will deliberately pop tlie ball 
up into the air, even when in perfect position. 



FOREHAND— XVI 

A strenuous moment during one of my Davis Cup matches 
at the West Side Club in 1913. It illustrates one of the 
countless number of positions that the strokes of your 
opponent will force you into. This was evidently an angle 
shot which I was just barely able to reach by running 
directly across the court. The drive was made right in 
the middle of my stride, which in this instance was di- 
rectly at right angles with the direction of the ball, thus 
eliminating almost all the effects of body weight from the 
stroke. The force of the drive in this instance must come 
for the most part from the sheer power of the arm swing. 
At the same time, in making a stroke like this, foot work is 
of vital importance, as it affects your body balance at the 
moment you reach the ball, and if you are off balance 
at this time it is almost impossible to swing the arm through 
with any amount of force. In this instance I chose to 
play the shot straight down and the ball has left my racket 
several feet and can be plainly seen speeding down the 
side line. Whether it hit the net or went out of courts I 
can't remember. 



Figure 39 



LOBS, CHOPS, AND SPINS 197 

During his famous five-set match in IMelbourne 
in 1908 with Brookes, when he defeated the Aus- 
trahan, Wright lobbed constantly, and to this, in 
great measure, he owed his triumph. Before 
that contest the American had competed against 
Brookes in various tournaments and had de- 
feated hun, I believe, in three out of five matches, 
and always through superior strategy. Know- 
ing that Brookes possessed none too great 
stamina, and in the course of five sets might be 
brought by clever manoeuvring to the point of 
exhaustion, — and knowing also that the Anti- 
podean was his master in the matter of stroking, 
Wright mapped out a plan of campaign for the 
^lelboiH'ne struggle which had for its sole object 
the tiring of his rival. As he laconically ex- 
pressed it afterward, "I played for his stom- 
ach!" Wright alternated a high, deep lob with 
a short chop over the net, keeping Brookes first 
craning skyward in the back court, and then bent 
double in a sprint up to the net. For the first 
two sets Brookes outplayed his rival in every 
department of the game, and in the third he Avas 
well in the lead. Then, suddenly, he began to 
tire, his game faded, and the American evened 
up the score, eventually winning the set. From 
that time Brookes, although in distress, put up 



FOREHAND— XVII 

A posed picture for the purpose of illustrating the extent 
of my "draw back" preparatory to a forehand drive when 
given plenty of time to get set. A point of error may be 
noted in this picture in regard to the proper distribution 
of weight at this moment of the stroke. At such a time 
more weight should be on the right foot than on the left, 
which is not the case here, where my weight has been 
transferred onto the left leg too far in advance of the 
racket. 



Figure 40 




FlGlRE iO 



LOBS, CHOPS, AND SPINS 201 

so superb an exhibition of stroking and place- 
ment that Wright, despite his superior pliysical 
condition, took the last two sets only after long 
and gruelling struggles. In like manner the for- 
mer American champion disposed of Wilding, 
the New Zealander. Wilding played a brilliant 
game, but Wright succeeded in outpointing him 
by employing every trick of the trade. Wright 
had no great ground strokes. He wonderfully 
developed his telling chop, however, and made 
it count tremendously by varying its length and 
speed, as illustrated. He was especially efficient 
at chopping short over the net. This faculty, 
with his attacking lob, gave him a complete — if 
unique — armory of strokes. He was always in 
direct contrast to Larned, who gained his vic- 
tories by steadily out-stroking his opponents. 
Wallace Johnson of Philadelphia also commands 
well played chops of varying length. Certainly 
they put a base line or play-back opponent in an 
unenviable position. But, of course, the entire 
effect of the chop stroke is lost unless the ball is 
allowed to bound, and it is — alas! — one of the 
easiest for the net player to volley, mainly for 
the reason I have already given: that a chop 
ball's flight through the air is very true, and that 



BACKHAND— I 

The finish of Williams' backhand stroke taken during 
the warm-up prior to his match against Wilding in the 
Davis Cup of 191'i- Here may be seen very clearly Wil- 
liams' thumb-up-the-handle grip, which is of the English 
and Continental type. Again may be judged, as I have 
already observed with regard to his forehand, the short 
arc through which his racket travels in making the stroke, 
also how he carries his follow-through across in front of his 
body. He puts little or no "top" on his ball, and this is 
evidenced by the position of his racket at the end of the 
stroke. If he had put top spin on this drive his racket 
would now be in a position with the upper edge turned 
toward the ball. In other words, his racket would have 
"turned over" on the stroke. 

A study of his foot position and body balance reveals 
a point to be avoided whenever possible in making a back- 
hand stroke. In fact, this photograph is the exception, as 
Williams is seldom guilty of error in this respect, for I 
have referred several times before to the very excellent 
form with which he makes all his shots. The point of 
criticism that I wish to bring out here is that he has made 
his stroke entirely from off the left leg, his body not having 
entered into the shot at all, since there has been no weight 
transference onto the right. Probably in this case Wil- 
liams was forced to step back by the deep bounce of the 
ball at the same time as he was called upon to make the 
stroke. Still, I may be forgiven for using this as an ex- 
ample of what not to do when the ball comes that gives you 
time to Set yourself. 



Figure 41 




Figure 41 



LOBS, CHOPS, AND SPINS 205 

it does not tend to drop as fast, owing to its 
iinder-spin. 

I should hesitate to advise the beginner to ex- 
periment very much with the various kinds of 
spin that are put on the ball. Too much of that 
is boimd to be detrimental to the development of 
sound tennis strokes. A certain amount, of 
course, is essential for the execution of the va- 
rious shots that require it, but it is very easy to 
form the habit of putting excessive spin on the 
ball, which is a great mistake. I know of a cer- 
tain plaj^er who decided that his forehand drive 
needed more top-spin. Instead of trying to 
bring this change about slowly he "played with 
fire," and began getting excessive lift on his 
drive. The consequence is that his drive is now 
all top-spin and has little or no forward speed. 
The whole effect of his stroke is entirely lost. 

The cardinal point to remember in getting 
top-spin on service and other strokes is to rea- 
son out just what position produces it, and how 
the racket must come on the ball to achieve the 
desired effect. Top-spin in a tennis stroke may 
be compared to the follow-shots in billiards. To 
produce this last we must cue the ball above cen- 
ter, thus imparting top-spin to it. In a tennis 
stroke, likewise, we know that to put top-spin 



206 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

on the ball the face of the racket nuist move 
across it in a certain manner. The wrist in this 
shot plays a larger ])art than almost any other 
one portion of the arm. iVU forms of control of 
the ball are more natm-al on the forehand side, 
and therefore, it follows that the backhand lends 
itself less easily to top. Under-cutting is a bad 
habit for a beginner to fall into and I should un- 
hesitatingly advise him to put in the time in ac- 
quiring top by preference. At the same time, 
as I have already observed, he must be careful 
not to dcvcloj) it too far. A slice volley is un- 
questionably a good stroke to develop. The 
same advice holds good for this as I have given 
for cultivating top. Be careful not to undercut 
the ball too much in cultivating this volley. 

In regard to learning to acquire spin, when 
one must go about it, I remember when the am- 
bition was born in me to try and learn a twist 
service mj^self. At that time I was no student 
of spin, swerve, angles, etc., and it was only 
through close observations of just how certain 
players were hitting tlie ball to get that break 
that I was able to develop a semblance of their 
service. Tlicn avIicu the trick of putting the 
proper spin on the ball had come to me it was 
just a case of constant practice and hard en- 



LOBS, CHOPS, AND SPINS 207 

deavor to incorporate it in my swing. Slowly 
I began to acquire more and more control of this 
ball and had increased the break of the bound 
from less than six inches at first to between two 
and three feet. Then as years went by I began 
to make more of a study of the effect my service 
was having on my opponents; also the effect it 
was having on me. I found that the excessive 
break did not fool a good player so much after 
he had become accustomed to it and yet in 
order to acquire this excessive break I had to sac- 
rifice a great deal of speed. Furthermore, this 
service entailed a tremendous amount of physical 
strain, especially when it had to be sustained 
through a long match. That is why in an earlier 
section I mention the fact that in late years I 
have largely eliminated the break on my service 
and proportionately increased its forward speed, 
coupled with a more complete control of di- 
rection. 



BACKHAND— II 

This is an excellent picture of Wilding's graceful back- 
hand finish^ taken the day he played Williams in the 1914 
International matches. His position and balance here 
could hardly be better, and it will be seen that his weight 
has been shifted completely onto the right foot as the stroke 
lias gone through. A comparison with Williams' finish 
brings out the point that Wilding's racket turns over con- 
siderably more than his opponent's, which would tend to 
impart more top to the ball. Also his stroke goes through 
further, although Wilding's backhand cannot be described 
as a full-arm sweep such as Pell's. 



Figure 42 



CHAPTER X 

OVERHEAD WORK— "THE SMASH" 

CONFIDENCE, like proper timing, is an 
element that enters into every shot in ten- 
nis, but for effective overhead work it is abso- 
lutely essential. Usually what we speak of as 
"overhead work" is the disposition of high re- 
turns from one's opponent which would fall in- 
side one's baseline, — attempts to lob or toss over 
one's head. An effective smasher will meet such 
attempts on the fly with both pace and place. It 
is easier to cover a deficienc}^ in this department 
than in one's ground strokes, and, of the two, 
ground-strokes are more important to cultivate; 
but a vital lack in overhead work Avill find one 
out. It is therefore necessary to cultivate the 
confidence I speak of, for that quality does not 
alwaj^s go hand in hand with ability. I have seen 
players who hit well overhead go utterly to pieces 
through lack of faith in themselves when a lob 
went up to them. The mind must be schooled 

211 



212 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

as well as tlie imiscles; in fact one's attitude of 
mind is a tremendous factor in all expert tennis. 
It is called u})on even as the prize-fighter's is 
called upon when his opponent endeavors to 
illustrate the slang phrase "getting his goat" by 
taking advantage of certain peculiarities of fis- 
tic temperament. But the tennis player's mind 
is of a more nervous kind naturally. He is usu- 
alty a college-trained man of some imagination. 
His senses are subtler; his fibre is finer. It is 
harder for him to keep absolutelj^ cool and col- 
lected under a rapid-fire attack. Naturally the 
temperament of the individual takes a hand here, 
and each one must work out his owrn particular 
method of tennis salvation. Trusting to luck 
will, of course, not ])rove dependable. But if he 
has the natural or trained ability to carry 
through the shot he should hazard something. 
Otherwise too gi-eat caution will keep him in a 
lower class. Eiagerness goes Avith tested con- 
fidence and ability, and some of us even leave the 
ground to "get an ace." The leaping "smash" 
may be called an individual characteristic. 
Owing perhaps to the coiu't factor in Californian 
tennis, which I have already dealt with, almost 
all the ]^layers I have in mind who leave the 
ground for their "finish off" shots are Califor- 



OVERHEAD WORK 213 

nians. My doubles partner, Biindy, is one of 
these. I should not advise the averap^e player, 
however, to cultivate such a method unless, as in 
my own case, it comes to him easily and nat- 
urally. 

There are two general types of smashes. The 
straight-arm t3"pe is possibly the safer, and per- 
haps less liable to fail one in the long run; but 
I am, nevertheless, an advocate of the free- 
wristed type, which sets greater speed and a 
greater variety of angles at one's command. The 
strengi:h of the wrist is a decided factor in the 
ability to take full advantage of the angles open, 
for a weak or undependable wrist may ruin a 
well-planned shot. As for the rest you must 
throw yourself into the stroke with every inten- 
tion of making a return impossible. 

A frequent question is: when do j^ou gauge 
your opponent's weakness and decide on the 
place to drive the ball? In general the lob 
always gives you time to judge your opponent's 
probable position and make up your mind as 
to the general direction of your stroke. As the 
moment of impact approaches these matters are 
relegated to the realm of subconscious control 
and the conscious mind is entirely concentrated 
on the execution of the smash. A plan may be 



BACKHAND— III 

It may be well to give this picture consideration in con- 
junction with Figure 42^ as it shows Wilding's racket to be 
in a very similar position, only taken from the other side. 
Like Williams, he uses a grip with the thumb up the han- 
dle, although he does not execute the shot in anything 
like the same style. On this particular shot, which was 
taken during the doubles on the second day's play of the 
Davis Cup matches of 1914, the ball has forced Wilding 
somewhat off his balance. But at the same time his 
-racket and arm have gone through on the ball true to 
form, even though insufficient time was given for him to 
properly set himself. Wilding's backhand is not of the 
extremely oiFensive type, but with it he is absolutely sure 
and almost as accurate as a baseball player would be were 
he allowed to throw a ball across the net. He just plays 
them fast enough so that when an opening presents itself 
he either scores outright or the return is so defensive that 
the point is easily earned on the following shot. 

The stroke, in a way, may be described as a sort of 
"shove"; the beginning of it is not very far back of the 
ball. He meets the ball squarely, as though he were going 
to block it back, then shoves the racket through with a 
firm thrust in a general line of the ball's flight. The arm, 
which was bent back at the elbow at the moment of impact, 
is extended out straight as here shown, at the same time 
with a forward movement of the right shoulder. In this 
photograph the ball was taken at a point in the air about 
where his left hand is now seen, although, of course, fur- 
ther away from the body, which would be nearer the 
camera. With this in mind, one may trace what I have at- 
tempted to describe above as the "shove" in Wilding's 
powerful backhand stroke. It must be borne in mind 
also that he maintains an unusually stiff wrist throughout 
the shot, which turns over slightly on the follow-through. 

Figure 43 




© Underwood & Underwood. 



I'iGURE 43 



^ nr'if'iiiiirr^wfii 



OVERHEAD WORK 217 

changed by intuitive judgment at the last pos- 
sible instant before impact, and a twist of the 
wrist "finish off" on a somewhat different line 
from the one first planned. A lob with flatter 
trajectory may give you less time to judge. But 
usuall)^ a trained eye and brain will put you in 
possession of the possibilities offered, and nar- 
row your choice immediately to the best chance, 
and the ball itself will then receive j^our undi- 
vided attention. All your "figiu'ing" will be 
done with lightning swiftness; the next instant 
you will be flashing into the stroke. And that 
moment is the moment you need infinite faith 
in your own ability and unconquerable deter- 
mination. The work of the wrist in the free- 
wristed smash may be compared to the "snap of 
the wrists" in a golf stroke. In the case of the 
straight-arm shot the movement is more of a 
sweep wath the whole arm. Possibly the free- 
wristed type is a trifle more difficult to time. 
Proper timing simply comes through long asso- 
ciation of your swing on the ball with a certain 
definite point overhead. Only constant prac- 
tice can develop proper timing. 

In regard to one's position in the court for 
smashing, it would be bad practice for the aver- 
age player or the beginner to attempt smashing 



BACKHAND— IV 

In the foreground T. R. Pell is seen making a backhand 
stroke for which he is famous. He is here playing with 
Karl Behr during one of their doubles matches at Seabright^ 
N. 3., last year. The ball has just been struck and the 
racket is about to go through to a finish such as shown^ in 
Figure 45. He hits his backhand with remarkable freedom 
that is not a characteristic of either Williams or Wilding. 
He starts his stroke from well back and carries it through 
with a beautiful^ smooth sweep, his arm and racket always 
keeping in the same general plane of force. His racket ap- 
pears to have come onto the ball almost flat in the picture, 
but were this photograph taken a little further back we 
should see that the upper edge of the racket would be 
slightly advanced toward the ball, as he plays most of his 
shots with a slight amount of top. The position here is 
excellent, and the weight is seen coming onto the right 
foot as the racket goes through. 



Figure 44 



OVERHEAD WORK 221 

when too far back. The nearer the net, the 
easier the "kill." I sometimes smash far back 
in the court, but the best way for the average 
man at first is to play the ball back safe and deep 
and wait for a shorter lob. A smash does not 
necessarily imply that the ball is unusually high, 
for at times, especially near the net, you will 
smash a ball down in front of you that was 
scarcely above your head. A ball of this nature 
is nearly always hit harder than in any other 
stroke of the game. But in general one may 
say that a player should always be fully ex- 
tended for smashing. Certain balls may be 
smashed on the backhand, and I sometimes use 
this stroke, but it is a rare one, for it calls upon 
one's wrist to stand an unusual amount of 
strain. A high, deep, straight-dropping lob 
may be smashed but it is usually wiser to play it 
safe and wait for the next. As to smashing 
high bounds, Beals Wright is the perfect ex- 
emplar of this fine but difficult stroke. He fin- 
ished them off from the back court with un- 
paralleled ease. 

Mention of Beals Wright necessitates the 
statement that, to my mind, he stands out as 
one of the greatest if not the greatest smasher 
that the East has ever developed. His smash 



222 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

may be classed as one of the full-armed type 
minus the free-wristed whip that we Californi- 
ans use. His ball takes a verjr deep flight and 
an extremely fast bound, — -the type that is hard- 
est in the world to handle. Of the present day 
Californians, Strachan and Johnston are both 
deadlj^ overhead and kill from all portions of the 
court. They use the free-wristed smash and hit 
with a form somewhat similar to my own, al- 
though they may not leave the ground as often 
as I do. In Wright and a player like Johnston, 
therefore, you have the two different types of 
this great stroke contrasted on their merits. 
After all it is the man behind the racket, and 
not the type of stroke he uses, that is the deter- 
mining factor. 



CHAPTER XI 

DOUBLES 

TENNIS doubles is a study in itself. There 
is such a wide difference between team 
play and singles that they may be considered as 
distinct from one another as is tennis itself from 
cricket or lacrosse. Of course the rules of the 
game are exactly the same except that the ter- 
ritory is larger and tw^o men alternate the serv- 
ice on the same side of the net. There is no dif- 
ference in stroke technique. But a good team 
player, while needing all the strokes that the in- 
dividual has use for, employs them with another 
object in view. He must remember at all times 
that he has a partner. In singles he seeks only 
to win the point. In doubles he tries much of 
the time to "set up" the point for his partner's 
"kill." The first-class doubles player must be 
absolutely unselfish on the court. Just as a foot- 
ball player, reluctant to yield the ball to a com- 
rade because of his hope that he may achieve a 
long run to his own personal glory, often tosses 

223 



224 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

away the chance for a goal ; so the tennis player 
who is greedy of laurels will, in a doiihles match, 
make futile trials at "aces" rather than place his 
partner in line for an easy kill. A man can he 
a good singles and a good douhles player at the 
same time, or he may be excellent at doubles and 
poor at singles, and vice versa. Usually he is 
.content to play well at one of the two and does 
not attempt the other with any great ambition. 
Singles, I should say, is far preferable for the 
beginner. It brings out a man's individuality 
far more than is possible in the game with a 
partner. To become an expert doubles player 
demands specialization in its peculiar necessities. 
I venture to say that doubles requires a greater 
variety of strokes, because the ball is necessarily 
more in play between four men and consequently 
more situations arise which call for widely dif- 
ferent kinds of stroking. Doubles brings the lob 
far more into play, all partners must be experts 
at this method of defense, and, in the English 
and Australian formation, which I shall pres- 
ently explain, the half-volley is of much value. 
The understanding of position is very important 
in the game of four. A great many doubles 
players do not understand this. For one thing 
they do not vollev close enough to the net. In 



DOUBLES 225 

the pair game shots are, in general, played with 
a more varying length, and the shot that drops 
quickly to the opponent's feet is more effective 
than in singles. The short-length shot is at a 
premium also. The constant endeavor is for a 
team to play their returns to prevent their op- 
ponents having the "down stroke." 

In an effective douhles team the men have 
worked together long enough to come to a mu- 
tual understanding as to who takes the ball 
under certain definite circumstances. They are 
really unconscious of their team-work. They 
are simply components of a well-oiled machine. 
Hackett and Alexander, the American douhles 
champions for four successive years, may be cited 
as attaining the perfection of team-work. Each 
appears to know intuitively what the other is 
going to do. Theirs is team-work not only in 
action but in anticipation. Their minds work 
together. They cover the net position wonder- 
fully well. Not only does Hackett know intui- 
tively what Alexander is going to do, and vice 
versa, but their brains work as one in antici- 
pating their opponents' intentions. Thus one 
will leave his own court entirely unprotected to 
assist in covering his partner's half against an 
attack not yet under way. On this marvelously 



BACKHAND— V 

T. R. Pell at the finish of one of his magnificent backhand 
strokes. I have said in my text that the forehand is the 
more natural side on which to play the ground strokes, 
but in Pell we find the great exception that proves the 
rule. This, unquestionably, is the greatest backhand drive 
ever developed in America, and is second to none in the 
world. Somewhat at the cost of the other departments of 
his game he has brought this stroke up to a wonderful 
degree of accuracy, and his control of speed as well as 
direction is great. Here is a stroke by all means worthy 
of emulation, and lucky is he who attains anything like 
Pell's proficiency. 

His grip with thumb up the handle is plainly shown. 
Also notice how close to the end of the handle he holds his 
racket and the extent to which he has turned it over on 
the ball in the follow-through, thus imparting considerably 
more top-spin than either Williams or Wilding does. 

In this picture Pell is running straight toward the cam- 
era. Apparently his footwork is faulty, as the right foot 
seems crossed over in front of the left, and all the body 
weight appears to be on the left, when it should be on the 
right. But this is a case where appearances are deceiving, 
for in this stroke he is running diagonally across the 
court, which gives the impression of the right leg being 
crossed in front of the left. Owing to the fact that he is 
running forward onto the ball, there is by no means any 
dead weight settled on the left leg. In fact, his body weight 
is advancing correctly on the ball, even though his stride 
is not completed on the right foot. Had he not been forced 
into moving before and during this stroke the position as 
here shown would be faulty. 



Figure 45 




Figure 



DOUBLES 229 

intuitive team-work rested the fame of the un- 
conquerable Dohertys. As an English friend 
once expressed it to me, they were "pretty snug 
players at the net." Naturally, to attain this 
high degree of doubles efficiency there must be 
a perfect understanding between the two men 
and each must be thoroughly acquainted with the 
other's game, its strength and its weakness. An- 
noyance on the part of one is bound to affect the 
play of his partner as well as his own game. 
Harmon}^ must rule. During an actual contest 
there should be little spoken between the men, 
and what is spoken should always be in the na- 
ture of encouragement rather than of criticism. 
Another factor in the excellence of the Hack- 
ett- Alexander type of combination is that Hack- 
ett, a cool and steady player, always the same 
under all conditions, serves as the balance wheel 
of the team. Alexander, on the other hand, is 
more temperamental and rises to tremendous 
heights of brilliancy, at such times scoring out- 
right point after point. It is in Alexander's 
lesser moments that the strength of Hackett's 
game is felt. He bridges over the gaps of de- 
pression in his partner's game and proves in time 
of need his possession of many invaluable 
doubles strokes. The two have tongue and 



230 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

grooved their game through years of association. 
Behr is the brilhant member of the Pell-Behr 
combination, though Pell's backhand work is, 
of course, marvelous. But Behr is also the more 
erratic of the two. At his best he is superb, but 
Pell has his work cut out for him on Behr's off 
day. In general, I believe that the players of 
a doubles team should be of different types, that 
is when their diff'erent stjdes of plaj^ more or 
less balance. It is easy to see that against a team 
in which both players are of the same type, their 
opponents will find it easier to gauge their game ; 
for the enemy have really only to get used to 
the methods of one man to have the whole box of 
tricks, whereas in the case of a team of different 
and balanced styles there would be two indi- 
viduals to watch and forestall throughout the 
whole match. Of course the ideal balance comes 
when both players are about equally rounded out 
in the doubles game, in a combination such as 
that of Wilding with Brookes, wherein strength 
is equally divided and handicapped by no weak- 
nesses. In the great majority of cases, however, 
each player possesses strokes some of which are 
a Doubles strength and some a Doubles weak- 
ness. But if the strength of one player defi- 
nitely offsets a certain weakness on the part of his 



DOUBLES 231 

partner, proper manoeuvring will, with prac- 
tice, protect the weakness of each bj^ the strength 
of each, and it will be very difficult to hammer 
such a team consistently at any given point. 

There are three essential features of good 
doubles play: ability to cover the net position 
well, good smashing, and good service. A 
doubles team can never lose if it holds its serv- 
ice. Service and the net position go together, the 
initial stroke giving the server the opportunity 
to reach the net where his team-mate is already 
stationed. The placing and varjang of the 
doubles service is as important as in singles. We 
have seen that the centre theory is really no 
theory at all in regard to the service. Control 
not only of a centred service but of side-line serv- 
ice as well, and the variation of these, is what 
counts. On the other hand, a centre drive is not 
only the safest return, but oftentimes the most 
effective in doubles. If well placed between 
your two opponents it tends to draw them to- 
gether and give you a better opportunity for 
an effective angle shot. In leaving the doubles 
service I may mention an odd formation that 
originated, I believe, in the East. The service 
partner is on the same side of the court with the 
server. It is sometimes useful when one's op- 



BACKHAND— VI 

Posed to illustrate the position of my racket approxi- 
mately at the moment of impact when making a backhand 
shot. Also to show my grip for making this stroke. Notice 
the upper edge of the racket is inclined toward the ball 
for the purpose of imparting top-spin, also that my fore- 
arm and racket handle are in the same general line, with 
the wrist well behind the racket, which grip I am a firm 
believer in for putting a maximum amount of power into 
the shot with the least amount wasted. 



Figure 46 



BACKHAND— VII 



I would suggest that this picture of my backhand low 
volley at the moment of impact be studied in conjunction 
with Figure 5Q, as it represents exactly the same conditions, 
only the ball is taken on the other side of the body, which 
brings the right foot forward as well as the right shoulder. 
The extent of my grip change is quite apparent and I 
would add that I use the same face of my racket for both 
forehand and backhand volleys. For the backhand volley 
especially I am a firm believer in keeping the wrist well 
in back of the racket handle as it unquestionably aids one 
in the command of the ball and gives an invaluable element 
of firmness and solidity to the racket at the moment of im- 
pact without which no volley is ever much of a success. 



Figure 47 




Figure 46 




Figure 47 



DOUBLES 235 

ponents possess unusually deadly cross-court 
strokes and are not so proficient at playing them 
straight down the sidelines. In such instances 
with this formation the net-man is in line with 
the angle of almost all cross-court shots. It 
sometimes effectively breaks up the cross-court- 
ing of the opposition. But on the whole it is a 
freak of tennis. 

In dealing M'ith the reception of the service 
in doubles we have the English or Australian 
formation to consider. JNIany teams in Austra- 
lia receive their opponents' service with one man 
on the baseline and another at tlie net, and this 
fashion is popular in England. It seems to me 
a weak formation. First, on returning the serv- 
ice the receiver must take the net at once. If he 
succeeds in getting there without being passed, 
well and good, but more often he will be caught 
in an awkward position by the server's partner 
who already has the advantage of being at the 
net when he is coming in. Second, the return 
of the service must be sure, well-placed and kept 
low, for the striker-out returns the service fol- 
lowing in to the net on his return and joining his 
partner already there. If his return of the serv- 
ice is low and well-placed, his opponent must 
volley up, and the striker-out and his partner 



BACKHAND— Till 

This is another pose picture to show my racket and 
position at the stage in my backhand shot after the ball has 
been struck and just before the racket is to turn over in 
imparting "top" to the ball^ finishing as shown in Figure 51. 
The body weight has shifted from off the left leg onto the 
rio-lit. 



Figure 48 




Figure 18 



DOUBLES 239 

are given the down-stroke on the next hall hit. 
But if the striker-out's return was high over the 
net, the down-stroke is immediatelj' given to the 
opponents with the corresponding advantage. 
A third point is that, with this formation, the 
receiver and his partner must be adept at the 
close-in style of volleying. There is no doubt 
that, provided the players are thus adept, the 
style is very effective as it brings an added ele- 
ment of offense into the play. But as the oppo- 
sition is already established at the net through 
the medium of the service, there is bound to be 
a call for close-in volley of an unusually fast and 
difficult description. Also there is much half- 
volleying, for which reason doubles pla^'crs 
abroad are more proficient in this difficult stroke 
than are American players. Personally, I cer- 
tainly set more store by the parallel method, and 
believe that the proper defense in doubles play 
is both men at the baseline to start with. But 
thereafter the receiving side shoidd overlook no 
opportunity to wrest the advantageous net po- 
sition from the opposition. Bundy and I use 
for the most part parallel positions and, of 
course, the follow-in to the net by the server. 
Pell and Behr and Hackett and Alexander em- 
ploy the same methods. JNIy partner and I do 



BACKHAND— IX 

This was snapped on the famous Longwood Cricket Club 
courts in Boston and shows my finish of a backhand drive, 
with the racket turned clear over after having put a good 
deal of top on the ball. My thumb-around-the-handle grip, 
as contrasted with those of other players shown heretofore 
with the thumb-up-the-handle, may here be noticed. There 
is one point of criticism in regard to the action of this 
picture that I would like to bring out. It isn't so much the 
position of my feet, which seems to be fairly correct, or 
that I have not transferred the weight onto the right leg. 
The point is that there is a distinct purpose in this weight 
transference which is lost here entirely. Transferring the 
weight from the left leg onto the right should be a com- 
ponent part of the stroke, and should work together with 
the racket and arm as they go through on the ball, thus 
giving added power to the shot when the racket and arm 
go through at a given speed. Here there is every indica- 
tion of these two units of force working entirely separately, 
instead of in perfect unison as they should. 



Figure 49 



DOUBLES 243 

not play with any set rule as to the handling)- of 
lohs. The player who takes tlie loh is the one 
in the best position for it. As I have mentioned, 
the hard, deep drives of singles are not nearly 
so effective in doubles. This is principally be- 
cause a deep fast ball has necessarily a more sus- 
tained and a straighter flight, and therefore is 
the easier to volley. In order to score, the ])lacc- 
ment of this shot must be perfect, for the two 
volleyers at the net, with only an added nine 
feet of width over that of a singles court, com- 
bine to make ineffectual a ball that would be well 
enough placed to prove effective in singles. By 
all odds the (juick-dropping return with its wide 
range of angles is more effective and useful in 
doubles. This is the reason for the failure of 
many high-class singles players in the four-men 
game. They are unable to sufficiently vary their 
stroking from the customary depth to the 
shorter, quicker dropping variety of return. 

Unquestionably Australia leads all nations in 
doubles play. I have seen more good teams and 
examples of good team-work among the gen- 
eral run of players down there than anywhere 
else I have ever been. I am not pre])ared to 
advance any good or obvious reason for this; it 
is just my observation of conditions. The 



BACKHAND— X 

This is a posed picture for the purpose of illustrating 
the extent of my drawback for making a backhand when 
given ample time to set myself before the ball arrives, to- 
gether with the position in which I place my feet and body 
for such a stroke, the right shoulder being pointed toward 
the ball. 



Figure 50 




Figure 50 



DOUBLES 247 

strongest and best work in doubles I have ever 
seen or played against was last year during the 
internationals against Brookes and Wilding. 
That day they were everything a doubles team 
should be, without a single weak link in their 
chain that could be detected. Of the teams I 
saw abroad the two that stand out in my mind 
as working together most smoothly, were the 
Germans, Rahe and Kleinscroth, and the veteran 
English combination of Barrett and Dixon. In 
the doubles play of the former much is seen 
that is charactertistic of their race and training. 
There is a military precision in the firm, crisp 
way that they go about the business of a 
doubles match. It is onl}^ in such a team as Bar- 
rett and Dixon that you discover the net game 
can be played in England as well as other coun- 
tries. Barrett is unusually proficient at the net 
and is easily the finest volley er I saw in Eng- 
land. Dixon's position at the net is, for the most 
part, considerably further back than Barrett's 
and it is owing to this that he gets so much play 
to his feet, which results in the necessity for fre- 
quent half-volleys, — of w^hich stroke, as I have 
said before, he is a master. Both teams are not 
what you would call brilliant, hard hitters; their 
efficiency is in unusual steadiness and accuracy. 



BACKHAND— XI 

Posed to illustrate the finish of my backhand under the 
same conditions as described in Figure 50. The weight 
has been transferred onto the right leg and the body ro- 
tated slightly at the waist as the right arm and shoulder 
go through to this finish. 

(I may add that my most beautiful backhands are made 
in these posed pictures^ just as the golfer always drives 
his longest ball with his trial swing on the tee.) 



Figure 51 




Figure 51 



CHAPTER XIT 

PRACTICE AND TRAINING 

ONE of the most essential points that occurs 
to me in discussing the right kind of prac- 
tice is never to play the game when not in the 
himior for it, or when in a state of partial 
physical exhaustion. If a player would only 
form the habit of alwaj^s stopping when there 
is still a desire left for more it would aid him 
beyond anything else I can think of. Playing 
too much tennis at one time, and too often, 
brings about excessive heart strain together 
with too great a physical tension generally. 
Even though a player is able to stand this strain, 
he will inevitabl3^ go stale. This is the greatest 
misfortune in tennis as in all other forms of ath- 
letics. In the past I have had one or two very 
severe lessons of the kind, and ever since have 
been especially careful in avoiding a recurrence 
of staleness. I remember an instance a few 
weeks before the first Pacific Coast Champion- 
ship I ever won, in 1907. My tennis had gone 

251 



252 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

hopelessly stale. Each day that I went out to 
plaj^ the desire was there, but no longer the 
muscular response that the game demands. At 
the time I did not know what was the matter 
with me, and a few days later it so happened 
that we packed off to the mountains on a short 
camping trip. This environment took me en- 
tirely out of the atmosphere of tennis, and two 
weeks later, on returning to the courts, I pos- 
sessed an almost unbounded enthusiasm. With 
comparatively few days' practice before the 
championship, my game came back to form by 
leaps and bounds, which resulted in the best 
playing I had ever shown up to that time. An- 
other thing that a great many plaj^ers fail to 
appreciate the importance of is the care of their 
digestion, especially during tournament sea- 
son. Personally, I am not an advocate of any 
rigid form of diet, but I am a firm believer in 
the importance of eating the more simple forms 
of cooking, and, still more, in the combination 
of foods that are taken at the same meal. As 
no two people are alike it is difficult to state just 
what these combinations are. Experience and 
self-anatysis really decide this for each indi- 
vidual. You may be sure, however, that if the 
slightest thing is wrong with the stomach it not 



PRACTICE AND TRAINIXG 253 

only affects j^oiir eye, but more, your entire mus- 
cular response. Another important point is 
frequency of play. This does not mean exces- 
sive play, however, and it is the recognition of the 
difference that causes one to be beneficial and 
the other injurious. A most natural tendency 
for one keen about the game is to play too much 
at one time, as well as frequently. He gradu- 
ally knocks the edge off his game in this con- 
dition, the tennis he plays is doing more harm 
than good. 

As I have said, always seek, when possible, 
to play against someone better than yourself or 
at least as good. One finds so many beginners 
who by preference pla^^ with others weaker than 
themselves, to satisfy a foolish vanitj' for always 
being the winner. Get out of this common habit 
of letting the desire to win at all costs predomi- 
nate in your practice games. You will gain far 
more by paying attention to the practice of 
strokes, and not favoring your best ones either. 
Of course, I do not mean that this should be car- 
ried to an extreme, for it would tend to elimi- 
nate the element of interest and fun in the game, 
and without this element no player will ever get 
past the beginner's stage. Go to tournaments 
outside of vour own town! Do not be content 



BACKHAND— XII 

Champion Williams is here seen at the finish of a backhand 
executed in perfect form. A comparison with Figure 41 
brings out his supei-ior balance and foot work in making this 
stroke. The ball evidently was rather a low bouncer^ as his 
position is slightly more stooped than usual. However^ this 
does not detract in the least from the beauty of the shot. 
Foot work is well nigh perfect, the weight having come 
well onto the right leg, and the finish of the stroke leaves 
him perfectly poised so that there will be no necessity 
.whatever for effort to be expended in recovering his bal- 
ance. The photograph was made on the beautiful turf 
courts at Seabright, N. J., in one of the matches of the 
tournament there in 1914, which he won. 



Figure 52 



PRACTICE AND TRAINING 257 

just to play at liome against the same players. 
Never say "Oh, I can't win!" and so he kept from 
entering tournaments. Kven if you do not win, 
it will improve your game to meet new con- 
ditions. 

As to discouragement, almost every player, 
especially one keenly amhitious, goes through 
its stages as his game develops. It is at such 
times that the player must get the firmest grip 
on himself, and not allow this feeling to pull him 
down. As a matter of fact, in most cases, the 
feeling is without foundation and entirely a men- 
tal ohsession. The man is convinced that months 
have passed with no sign of improvement. In 
reality, an improvement is going on of which he 
is unconscious. Therefore, if he hangs on wnth 
tenacity of purpose, he will sooner or later he 
rewarded. Let the average plaj'^er form the 
habit of studying his own strokes and the results 
they are bringing, always witli the view of build- 
ing up his weaknesses. A stroke that verj^ aptly 
illustrates that the above advice is not generally 
followed is the overhead smash, with which I 
have already dealt. A countless number of 
players, including those of first-class ability, are 
perceptibly weak in this particular stroke. They 
have neglected it in their practice. In tourna- 



BA CKII AND— XIII 

The oanun-a has caught Pell at the finish of one of his 
severe baekhand drives. A study of this photograph brings 
out one or two interesting points. For ideal position his 
feet should be a little further apart, that is. the right ad- 
vanced more toward the ball and more weight might be on 
that leg. But this is another one of those cases where in 
actual play so often there is no opportunity to perfectly 
set jnmrself. The follow-through here plainly indicates 
that he has played this shot across court with considerable 
angle, as the finish is so far across in front of his body 
and off his right side. His racket has turned over to an 
uinisual degree which would show that he played the shot 
with a great deal of "top" for the purpose of holding the 
ball, causing it to di'op quickly. This would not be so neces- 
sary if there was not every indication of his having played 
this stroke at a wide angle and extremely hard as shown 
by the weight being lifted almost entirely oil" the ground 
by the force of his powerful swing. 



riOURE 5b 




Figure 53 



PRACTICE AND TRAINING 261 

ment play one should form the mental hahit of 
studying opponents as to their peculiar weak- 
ness and strength. As to smoking and drink- 
ing, — these two most common forms of stimu- 
lant certainly affect the player and his tennis. 
(I now have in mind the player who is getting 
ready for match-play, and do not feel that the 
suhject of training need be dealt with at all in 
connection with him who plays entirely for fun 
with no idea of tournament competition ahead.) 
But take the case of an excessive smoker — I 
should hesitate to advocate that he necessarily 
entirely give up this habit before a tournament. 
If he can do so without feeling any undue reac- 
tion from the want of the accustomed stimulant 
it is far better for his wind and condition. If 
he can not do so, it is, at least, imperative for 
him to materially cut down his usual amount of 
smoking. In this connection much depends 
upon the individual, the personal equation, be- 
cause the reaction varies with different people 
when habitual smoking or drinking is suddenly 
lessened. Personally, I feel that my own con- 
ditioning for a tennis match is made easier by 
the fact that I do not indulge in any form of 
artificial stimulant. Consequently, the extent of 
my training, if applied to a player who does, 



BACKHAND— XIV 

I have included this picture, feeling that perhaps as 
much can be gained from an illustration of what not to 
do as from those that always show correct positions. From 
the point of view of body balance and position this snap- 
shot certainly is a striking example of everything as it 
shouldn't be, and I hope my readers will profit by it. To 
be anywhere near correct my right foot at this moment 
should be a step forward instead of tangled behind my left, 
and by now I should be transferring my weight from the 
left onto the right. The only redeeming feature about 
the picture is that my racket arm seems to have gone 
through freely, which would be unusual from such a posi- 
tion. The picture shows the angle at which I incline the 
racket-head toward the ball just after impact. 

Figure 54 

VOLLEY ~I 

With Figure 54 in mind, I may open these volley 
pictures with another illustration of tennis misfortune. 
This is an anxious moment at the net during one of my 
matches on the centre court at Wimbledon, England, in 
1913. I have anticipated the shot wrong and my opponent 
has played the ball by me for a clean pass. I have turned 
in time to watch it land and the camera has caught me in 
the act of wishing the side line would be nearer to me 
than the ball when it struck. A short section of the service 
line may be seen at the extreme left of the picture and 
from that it may be judged that my volley position here 
was about ten feet inside of it. 



Figure 55 






r^ 


REkifi] 


pniir 


M 






1^ 


uum 




L> ii..^<'4-ia 


r* ^lin# 4 ^^^"^f^^^^H^^C^^^V 



PRACTICE AND TRAINING 265 

might fall short. However, I will relate one or 
two of the principal points about training that 
I look out for. 

As already stated, my form of diet is a very 
simple one, and care is exercised as to the com- 
bination of food taken at the same meal. Owing 
to the fact that the principal tournaments are 
played in various localities, I am always very 
careful about drinking-water. It is not so much 
that the water at a given place is bad ; much more 
is it the change of water from some previous 
place that upsets the stomach. To avoid this 
constant change, I drink a standard bottled 
water that is sold everywhere. 

]SIy tennis in recent years has been distinctly 
seasonal. During the winter months, I allow my 
game to utterly go out of practice, which neces- 
sitates a reconstructive process every spring pre- 
paratory to the summer tournaments. This pro- 
cess involves for the most part a gradual train- 
ing of the eye and the bringing of the muscles 
back into the required state of activity and flexi- 
bility which they naturally lose through the in- 
active winter months. Each year I must train 
myself anew, both mentally and physically, up 
to a concert pitch. It is only by this general 
method that I feel I can reach the greatest 



VOLLEY— II 

The purpose of this photograph is to show my forehand 
low volley position. At the same time I want to bring out 
one or two points about the low volley which I am a firm 
believer in and feel are of utmost importance in acquiring 
some command of this very difficult stroke. One of the 
most important of these is the necessity for getting down 
to the ball^ at the same time maintaining absolute poise in 
this crouched position. The most essential reason for this 
"getting down" to the ball is to maintain, whenever possible, 
the horizontal racket. By this method, I have found that 
you can acquire a great deal more control of the low volley 
in every way. In all low volleys the weight should be well 
forward. On the forehand side the left foot should be 
well in advance of the right and the left leg sustaining 
most of the weight. This picture shows the position of the 
racket at the moment of impact, and you will notice its 
face is slanted back, the lower edge being nearer the ball 
for the purpose of elevating the return sufficiently to clear 
the net, as, of course, all such volleys are made consid- 
erably below the level of the tape, and it is the necessity 
for raising the volley just high enough to clear that makes 
it such a difficult stroke to master. The photograph very 
clearly shows my grip for this stroke, so I will not enlarge 
upon that except to call attention to the fact that it is about 
an inch further up the handle than I take it for a service 
or a drive. 



•Figure 56 




k 



PRACTICE AND TRAIXIXG 269 

heights of my game. Such a plan could not 
have been possible a few years ago when my 
game was more in the constructive stage. Then 
more continuous play was needed, as a lay-off 
for a period of months would tend to retard de- 
velopment. It is only after one's game has 
rounded out that a long rest can be taken and 
the loose threads picked up again with a few 
weeks' practice. This, in part, explains why a 
youngster develops faster in an all-j^ear-round 
climate like that of California. He is enabled to 
play more continuous tennis when his game is at 
the constructive stage. 

Here are some of mj^ most vivid impressions 
as I look back a few years to that time. Pri- 
marily I had an unbounded love and enthusiasm 
for the game. I felt, and still do in fact, that it 
was the greatest of all outdoor games, and I had 
tried them all as boys will. Discouragement? I 
should saj'^ so! Once I was convinced that I 
stood stock-still in my game for two years. 
Afterwards I found I was mistaken, for im- 
provement had been working silentl3\ The 
greatest factor that carried me over such obsta- 
cles was that my enthusiasm for the game never 
slackened. I never ceased to enjoy playing, al- 



VOLLEY— III 

Figure 47 was a pose-picture of the low backhand 
volley and here we have a snapshot of real serious action 
illustrating exactly the same stroke. The picture was made 
on the famous centre court at Wimbledon^ England^ and a 
glim^Dse may be had in the background of the audience that 
filled the permanent stands constructed on all four sides 
of this court. The ball was evidently a mean one to reach 
and may be seen just coming onto my rackety which is 
faced well back to give it elevation on the return, as I 
haven't a hope at the limit of my reach like this of doing 
any more than meeting the ball squarely and firmly. No- 
tice that even in an extreme case such as we have here I 
have kept my body well down to the ball and maintained a 
horizontal racket as near as was physically possible. 

An interesting feature in the equipment of this court may 
be seen lying along the ground in the centre background 
against the green baize enclosure. It is in the form of 
an immense canvas tarpaulin, which is spread over the 
court enclosure in a very unique manner to prevent the 
rain from drenching this invaluable stretch of turf. When 
rain threatens, the canvas, which is rolled up along the 
side, is quickly stretched across the court and fastened to 
a steel cable running from end to end down the middle of 
the court enclosure; the cable is fastened over two tempo- 
rary posts that are quickly erected at eitlier end, and is 
stretched taut by means of a windlass, and thus the tar- 
paulin, which is also fastened at the sides, is raised com- 
pletely clear of the tiirf and constitutes a waterproof tent 
over the entire court area. 



Figure 57 



PRACTICE AND TRAINING 273 

thoiigli at the time I was positive I had ceased 
improving forever. 

I shoidd saj^ that it was about the time I 
began winning some of tlie tournaments among 
the boj'-s that my ambition was born to become a 
real player. By tliese boyish tournaments, I was 
gradually educated up to regular tournament 
play; consequently I can not recall any severe 
case of stage-fright. Naturally my first match 
against a first-class player in open tournament is 
verj"^ clearly defined in my memory, however; 
and, in recalling that match, I do not find myself 
the most composed j^outh in tlie world. I re- 
member more keenly that the gi'eat southern 
player. Bell, looked as big as a mountain over on 
the other side of the net. The gi'eatest friend I 
had in my youtliful tennis days was Sidney R. 
Marvin, to whom I have gratefully dedicated 
this book. 

During a tournament season I am alwaj^s 
careful in regard to rest, averaging between 
eight and nine hours' sleep. Between all matches 
I am a great believer in utter relaxation. I rise 
between eight and nine and have a fairly hearty 
lunch about two hours before I am going to play. 
During tournament week I do not swim or take 
any otlier tiring outside exercise. In preference, 



VOLLEY— IV 

The ball has come so that I did not have to move in 
order to reach it, which accounts for the spread apart posi- 
tion of the feet and the equal distribution of weight on 
either one. Since it came a trifle to the left side of my body 
I naturall}^ volleyed it with a backhand. The most im- 
portant point the picture brings out is the one that I have 
already emphasized before — that of the wrist and forearm 
being well behind the racket handle, and the horizontal 
racket. In fact, the horizontal racket position for most 
volleys below the level of the shoulders is typically an 
American method and is found less generally in other 
countries. 



Figure 58 




Figure 58 



PRACTICE AND TUAININC; 277 

I drive and walk and loal'. 1 kccj) away from 
too ninch tennis talk and think of other things. 
Sometimes I do a little motorin;^- or motor hoat- 
ing also, or ranihle along the sea shore. I have 
no rigid inks f'oi* keeping in tennis sha])e, either 
hefore or during a tournament. The hest rule is 
to he natural and simple in one's tastes. On the 
average, during a hard season, museular relaxa- 
tion is easier to acquire than mental. Yet one is 
just as essential as the othei". Therefore, it is 
well, when the strain has heen continuous, to oc- 
casionally^ seek an environment utterly foreign 
to tennis yet in no way injurious to it. 15y this 
method you ohtain a mental as well as a j)hysical 
relaxation and rest. 

My study of an opponent is for the most part 
confined to the actual progress of the match. I 
endeavor to ada))t myself as (juickly as possihle 
to his game, ferreting out his ])rincipal ))oints of 
strength and weakness. Once these impressions 
are formed and rooted in regard to a certain 
player, he is catalogued in the mind, and u])on 
meeting him again not nearly the same amount 
of study of his methods is recjuired. Therefore 
it appears that the greatest amount of study of 
an opy)onent comes when he is a ])layer you have 
never met hefore. Never was this home in u])on 



278 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

me more keenly than when I played in the Eng- 
lish championships. There every opponent's 
game was totally strange and each day I had to 
adapt myself to a new style, quite a trying test, 
as anj^ player who has been through a similar 
mill will testify. As to tennis sportsmanship, 
remember that you are in it for the sake of the 
sport. Alwa^^s plaj^ the game as you would have 
the other fellow play it. 

It is pretty hard to define in just so many 
words what the true tennis form is to which we 
all aspire. It does not necessarity mean a fixed 
standardized stjde, for two totally different 
stjdes may be equally true to form. To possess 
true tennis form, one must have the abilitj^ to 
make all his shots with a natural ease, a full, free, 
easj^ swing, — and above all make his shots from 
the correct position. By that I mean the feet 
should be so placed and the body weight so dis- 
tributed that everj^ shot is a perfectlj^ natural 
one and carries with it no awkwardness or cramp- 
ing of swing. Of course, in using the words "all 
his shots" and "every shot" I make exceptions in 
the case of strokes from your opponent that 
force 3^ou completelj^ out of position. A player 
with true tennis form is always a graceful one 
and makes his strokes with apparently no effort. 



PRACTICE AND TRAINING 279 

Our present national champion Williams' ten- 
nis is played in almost perfect form. 

By all means should one try to learn good form 
before getting into match play. I know of sev- 
eral players who developed faults in form that 
became ingrained and spoiled their future as 
cracks. These men were invariably those who 
never liave given any thought or time to the sub- 
ject of form as applied to their own strokes. The 
player who has good form with no drive or effect 
to his game, and never gets past the "parlor" 
stage, more often lacks either the mental ability 
or mental ambition to go on improving. In some 
cases he may be hampered by the lack of physical 
stamina, but such instances are greatly in the 
minority. So many players are careless, and, in 
not being closer students of themselves, allow 
some flaw to become ingrained. I can remember 
distinctly, when developing my forehand drive, 
that I suddenly came to the realization that I had 
been taking the ball too close to my body, thus 
cramping my swing and not getting the benefit 
of the full sweep of the arm and racket. I had 
been doing this for so long that it was only after 
the greatest amount of application that I suc- 
ceeded in correcting the faulty tendency. Un- 



VOLLEY— r 

The scene is during one of the International Matches 
against Australasia at the West Side Club^ N. Y., in 1913. 
I have made my volley on the backhand of the return of 
my service down to my opponent's forehand. Evidently 
I succeeded in getting sufficient angle and depth on the 
stroke to warrant continuing on to a close-in net position, 
with the hope of there cutting off the next return with 
sufficient effect to win the point. 

The ball seen in the centre of the picture is one that was 
left carelessly on the court before the point was played. 
This is a very dangerous habit and is quite prevalent in 
practice games. When a ball left lying in the court is 
stepped on in running a badly sprained ankle is very likely 
to result. 



Figure 59 



PRACTICE AND TRAINING 283 

doiibtedly it would be harder for men who began 
playing later in life to eradicate eccentricities 
than for youngsters. JNIost emphatically young- 
sters should strive to get perfect form. In the 
ver)^ early stages of my game some of the bo5'^s 
around me sneeringly referred to "JNIcLough- 
lin" as "trying to play fancy." But I knew in 
my own mind that my efforts were not for the 
purpose of acquiring a pretty effect, but to attain 
the correct method of hitting the ball. At the 
start I should not advocate spending a long 
time practising one stroke and then taking up 
another, as this would be another factor tending 
to eliminate the element of interest and enthu- 
siasm for the game. It is better to play an all- 
around game until the various points of strength 
and weakness develop, and then build up the 
weaknesses. In closing this section I maj^ men- 
tion a friend of mine who has been training his 
three little daughters scientifically in tennis, be- 
lieving the game to be one of the best brain and 
body builders for young people known. He has 
them practise, play, and read the best literature 
on the subject. They have examinations and 
final matches from time to time, and are marked 
on points. Such is one man's opinion of the 



284 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

value of tennis in relation to a healthy life, and 
the incident also illustrates the care that might 
be well spent in building up each individual's 
game. 



CHAPTER XIII 

LADIES' TENNIS 

IF SO far I have barely touched upon the sub- 
ject of ladies' tennis, it is not from a lack 
of respect for the game as played by the gentler 
sex. Rather I should say that I have mentally 
regarded the subject as one apart, as a subject 
that other writers (I refer in particular to the 
lad}' contributors to tennis lore) are far more 
competent to discourse upon. However, periiaps 
a few observations may not be amiss, for after all 
the fundamental principles of the game are the 
same, whether it is played by women or men. 

The chief reason why the average lady's game 
differs so from that of a man is unquestionably a 
physical one. The vast majority of women play- 
ers do not possess sufficient strength to hit a ball 
really hard, or the ability to cover the court with 
the agility a fast-moving tennis ball demands. I 
should hesitate to say that it is through lack of 
ability that the feminine player does not bring 

285 



VOLLEY— VI 

Williams vs. Wilding in the opening match of the Davis 
Cup Challenge Round of 1914. Williams has served and^ 
following his service to the net^ has volleyed Wilding's re- 
turn with a low backhand (notice the horizontal racket). 
It evidently wasn't a very deep forcing service, as Wilding 
has moved part waj^ into the court toward the net with his 
return-, showing that he was enabled to make a sufficiently 
offensive shot to warrant his advance to the position as 
shown here. This, under normal conditions, would be what 
is known as the "dead line" — the place in the court where 
you will invariably be caught at your feet and where the 
very best you can hope for is to play a purely defensive 
shot. In this instance Wilding is evidently expecting a 
defensive volley from Williams. If he gets it, the com- 
mand of the situation is his; if not, then the advantage is 
distinctly with Williams, owing to Wilding's position as 
above described. 



Figure 60 



LADIES* TENNIS 289 

her game up to the masciihne standard. It is 
purely a physical hmitation. 

Ohviously the woman wlio is hlessed with the 
physique, phis all the other recjuisites that make 
up tennis ability, is the one who builds her game 
most along masculine lines, and so surpasses her 
sisters in competition. Such ladies are the grand 
exceptions to the rule and I am proud to state 
that, so far as America is concerned, California 
easily leads any other part of the country in 
having developed the greatest number of these 
"grand exceptions." 

There are various reasons for this ; perhaps the 
principal one is climatic. You will almost in- 
variably find that an equable climate engenders 
a desire and love for the out-of-doors. So it is 
at least in California, especially among the ladies, 
for of course the average woman has more leisure 
than the average man. What, then, is more nat- 
ural than that under these circumstances they 
should build up a strong physique jointly with 
their improvement and development in tennis 
skill? 

Another reason is that ladies are encouraged 
more in the game in California than in any other 
locality I have ever known, possibly excepting 
England. There is scarcely a tennis tournament 



290 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

of any importance in California where the ladies' 
events are not treated as of equal importance with 
those of the men. This can scarcely be said of 
any other section of the country. As a result 
this participation in frequent tournaments has 
the natural effect of stimulating feminine inter- 
est in the game and bringing into ladies' play the 
added element of that keen competition which 
is so absolutely essential to the development of 
a high class tennis player. 

And beyond these there is another reason 
which may further explain the superiority of the 
California women plaj^ers. They frequently play 
with and against the better men players, a mat- 
ter of invaluable assistance to a girl in the de- 
velopment of her strokes, for she learns to adapt 
herself to the faster shots of the men, which nat- 
urally has the effect of making the strokes of 
other ladies seem easier to handle. This was cer- 
tainly true in cases of Mrs. T. C. Bundy [nee 
May Sutton) and Mrs. George Wightman [nee 
Hazel Hotchkiss ) , the two greatest women play- 
ers ever developed on California courts. Need- 
less to say, their fame has long ere this spread 
far beyond local confines, and we are perfectly 
safe in saying that each at the height of her game 
was second to no woman piaj^^er the world has 



LADIES' TENNIS 291 

ever seen. Both girls were forever playing with 
the men. Indeed their natural tennis ahility 
soon justified such association, not to mention 
their attractive personalities, which are relegated 
to secondary position for the moment as my re- 
marks are confined principally to the tennis as- 
pects of the case. The same thing has been true 
of JNIiss INIar}' Brown, our present National 
Champion. During the stages of her improve- 
ment to a high tennis ranking she moved in ap- 
proximately the same tennis circle as did Mrs. 
Bundy, and was also aided materiall}?^ through 
the able tuition of her brother Nat, the present 
National Clay Court Champion in doubles with 
Claude AVayne. 

And finally, learning and developing the game 
on hard courts has its advantages, as I have 
pointed out in regard to the men ; for a woman's 
stroke is bound to accumulate speed with fre- 
quent pla}'^ thereon, and her footwork will be 
appreciabl}" quickened. 

Elsewhere I have treated at some length the 
development of Mrs. T. C. Bundy's forehand. 
Her mastery there of a distinctly individual 
stroke illustrates the fact that it is possible for 
women to attain proficiency in the finer points 
of technique as well as building their game upon 



VOLLEY— VII 

The finish of a stroke that comes between a high volley 
and a smash^ representing, perhaps, the hardest hit ball 
I ever attempt on the tennis court. This shot resembles 
a high volley in that the ball is taken at a point in the 
air from which high volleys are made and not sufficiently 
above the head to allow for an overhead swing. It re- 
sembles a smash because the ball is hit hard with a full-arm 
swing, instead of being blocked back with the usual short, 
crisp volley stroke. Such a ball as a rule floats up rather 
slowly, which gives you time to hit it with a full swing, 
and is taken well out in front of you at a point just above 
the level of the eyes. You do not hit down on this kind 
of a ball so much as you do when killing a short lob; the 
racket slashes horizontally across in front of your body, 
as my follow-through in this picture shows. For this rea- 
son the shot is played much more successfully across-court. 
It is also one that should never be attempted except when 
inside of the service line. 

The snapshot was made on one of the celebrated courts 
at Newport, R. I., — the one next the Locker Building, a 
portion of which is seen in the background. 



Figure 61 




Figure 61 



LADIES' TENNIS 295 

a solid foundation. Certain veiy violent meas- 
ures resorted to by men, as in the case of tlie diffi- 
cult American twist service and the leaping 
smash, must of necessity remain largely beyond 
a woman's range, but there is no reason, for in- 
stance, why women shoidd not be better volleyers 
than they are. Setting aside the effort required 
for continual "running in," the average woman is 
more chary than tlie average man about expos- 
ing herself to the rapid fire of a rally at the net. 
I think that, as in the case of a poor masculine 
volleyer, this can be largely counteracted by con- 
stant practice. Familiarity with a hard hit ball 
at close quarters will rob it of most of its terrors. 
As the wrist becomes strengtliened the realiza- 
tion will follow that any close hard-hit ball may 
be met, at least, even if tlie return stroke have no 
verj'^ definite intention behind it. Tlie racket will 
be found an easy protection, in the last analysis, 
against most cliances of the player's being hit; 
and if the ej^e is trained constantly and cour- 
ageouslj^ it is astonishing how many close volley 
shots may l)e brouglit off with fair success by 
merely blocking tlie ball. And after this idea 
is mastered the follow-through I have already 
dwelt on might be added. After all there is some 
lungeing and running to be done whether the 



296 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

player is close in or lingering around the base 
line, and a lady player who acquires some pro- 
ficiency in "coming in" nine chances out of ten 
will soon have the "drop" upon her opponent of 
the same sex. 

Just as one naturally cites California in dis- 
cussing the general topic of ladies' tennis in 
America, so one thinks of England when turning 
to the subject of their tennis abroad. Yet we 
must look for a different explanation of the Eng- 
lishwoman's marked proficiency, as it certainly 
is not so largel}^ climatic, nor is the quality of 
their game due to their play on hard courts. As 
a matter of fact, their tennis is played almost en- 
tirely on grass. Beyond a doubt the lady plaj^-ers 
of England maintain a higher standard of abil- 
ity than those anywhere else in the world, and I 
think the most likely and logical reason for this 
is the vast amount of tennis that is played in 
England. Tournaments are held everywhere on 
good courts, but, what is more important, the 
women take a keen interest in them, devoting 
almost all of their leisure in the tennis season to 
participating in the various events, and they enter 
with a true tennis spirit. They play more for 
the sake of the game and less for effect ; in other 
words, it is a matter of greater concern to the 



LADIES' TENNIS 297 

average girl to acquire a forehand like that of 
Mrs. Chambers than is the question whether a 
blue or a pink silk sweater sets her off more be- 
comingly upon the court. It is just because so 
man^^ ladies on the other side adopt this sensible 
attitude of mind — realizing that what the game 
holds for them is deserving of more than a mere 
passing "parlor" interest — that so man}^ excel. 
Their style of game is almost entirely a back- 
court game. In fact, this feature is typical of 
ladies' tennis in general, for it is in exceedingly 
rare instances that one sees the net game any- 
where near successfully developed in a woman. 
To a certain extent physical limitation enters 
in to explain this. Of the great players I have 
known in the world, Mrs. Wightman stands prac- 
ticall}' alone as an exponent of net playing in the 
real sense of the word; the rest are wonderfully 
proficient in ground strokes. In England, Mrs. 
Chambers and Mrs. Larcombe stood out most 
prominently of those I observed. Certainly they 
have brought the back-court game up to a more 
marvelous degree of skill than any ladies I have 
ever seen, with the exception of Mrs. Bundy, 
who has no equal. Tlieir drives are played in 
beautiful form witli a full-arm swing and a fine 
"follow-through." Thej^ put no top on the 



298 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

ball, as Mrs. Bundy does, and so it takes a very 
straight deep flight, just skimming the net, that 
is a delight to watch. 

Although tennis is such a strenuous sport, it 
should have mam^ attractive features for the 
women of the United States. No other game can 
surpass it for all-around physical development, 
but it is also a stimidant to mental activity. Con- 
sidered from the more aesthetic side, it is a grace- 
fid game; and a country club's well-kept courts, 
especially if of grass, furnish the most attractive 
type of battle-ground. It is a "clean" game, 
demanding the finest sportsmanship, with no 
wrangling; and it calls for that concentration of 
mind to which women have of late laid just claim. 
May I even be allowed to say that woman has 
prided herself upon her strategy in the past, and 
that tennis requires just such a gift^ Once let 
the merely ornamental side of the game lose some 
of its appeal for the feminine phalanx, and the 
realization that hard work is a necessity in de- 
veloping the strokes that "look so easy" take its 
place, and we shall have a higher average of 
ladies' tennis in America. 



CHAPTER XIV 

TIGHT PLACES IX TOURNAMENTS 

I HAVE often been asked to recite instances 
in tournament play where your opponent 
has you within a "hair's breadth" of defeat when 
suddenly the tide turns and you are fortunate 
enough to pull an apparently hopeless situation 
"out of the fire." In describing the following- 
two or three cases that stand out prominently in 
my personal experience I do not for a moment 
wish to reflect any luidue amount of credit on 
mj^self; for the same sort of thing happens to 
all match players, and the praise should be equal- 
ly divided. A recital of a few personal reminis- 
cences may serve to exemplify how aptly one 
or two of the old adages may be applied to tour- 
nament play; such old standbys as "Xever say 
die," and "While there is life, there is hope," and 
so on. In short the lesson is never to lose your 
"grip" in a match no matter how badly things 
are going against you, for a match is never lost 
until j^our opponent has scored the last point. 

299 



OVERHEAD SMASH— I 

The conditions attending an overhead smash are so vari- 
able that there really is no set way of executing this diffi- 
cult shot^ which can be set aside and drawn upon as a 
basis of comparison such as is possible with some of the 
other strokes with which I have been dealing. For one 
thing — to further illustrate this point — you must be able 
to smash a ball with equal facility whether moving forward 
or backward^ yet there is a wide difference in balance and 
position in making the two strokes^ and each may be a 
perfect smash. On the other hand;, in making^, let us say, 
a perfect forehand drive, it is not possible to accomplish 
such a stroke when moving backwards, at least not by our 
present recognized standards of perfect forehand stroke- 
form. In the accompanying photograph, I am smashing the 
ball from a position over the service line when moving 
backwards. The ball has just been struck and may be seen 
as a blurred object just in front of the racket. It will be 
seen that I have hit the ball when fully extended from off 
my right leg. This is characteristic throughout almost all 
my overhead work, and brings out an important point of 
difference between this stroke and my service, as in the 
latter my left leg figures most prominently. Notice my grip 
at the very end of the racket handle as contrasted with 
that for the forehand volley. 



Figure 62 




Figure 62 



TOURNAMENTS 303 

This was brought home to me with a vengeance 
quite early in my tournament experience, and I 
can remember being well rewarded for "hanging 
on" in a semi-final match of a big handicap event 
in San Francisco. My opponent was placed at 
plus 30, and I was at owe 50, or 4 points behind 
scratch. When your adversary is not an absolute 
novice this is quite a load to carry, as any one who 
has tried it will assure j^ou. We were playing 
two out of three sets, the first falling to my op- 
ponent rather easih^ In the next he went into 
the lead at 5-3. He won the first point of the 
ninth game and the score stood owe 50-40 against 
me for match. This meant that I must score 
seven consecutive points to bring the score to 
deuce. The loss of any one of the seven points 
meant the loss of the match. I don't know how, 
but in some way I managed to pull the game out. 
The game score now stood 5-4. Out of the fry- 
ing pan into the fire ! — if I didn't go and lose the 
first point of the next game! Again 40 owe 50 
against me for match. Seven more points in a 
row, in which I could not afford to make a 
single error! — which meant also that I dare not 
risk a stroke hard enough for a point winner un- 
less it was a perfect "sitter." It was a case of 
wait for that "sitter," or for my opponent's error. 



OVERHEAD SMASH— II 

Scene in the deciding set in my match against Wilding 
in the Davis Cup of 1914. I was crowding the net very 
close during this point and Wilding was tempted to try 
one over my head. His lob evidently was not quite high 
enough and, thanks to the leaping smash, I was able to 
reach it. The leap for this "kill" is up and backwards at 
the same time ofF the right foot. The ball is struck when 
both feet are in mid-air, at which time also the right leg, 
which was back before leaving the ground, is kicked for- 
ward past the left in a sort of "scissors," which gives added 
power to the arm swing. The left foot is the first to reach 
the ground, which is shown in this photograph. 

The angle of my racket indicates that I have smashed 
across-court to Wilding's backhand. To do this from the 
position here shown I have turned my wrist on the ball 
at the last possible moment, imparting to it a certain amount 
of reverse "action" or spin. Not enough, though, to in any 
way affect the speed of the ball's flight. It does, however, 
affect its bound, causing it to leave the ground with a 
very fast shoot. A careful study of my racket, wrist, and 
arm in this picture will give some idea of the way I ac- 
complish a "reverse smash." 



Figure 63 



TOURNAMENTS 307 

It was misery while it lasted. It seemed to take 
an "age" to pull that second game out of the fire 
and eventually win the set and match. But I 
managed to do it. Even in subsequent years dur- 
ing matches of international importance, I have 
never suffered the mental agony in a "tight 
pinch" that this match caused me. It practically 
cured me of handicap play, and I have scarcely 
ever participated in such an event since. 



One of the most stubbornly fought sets, and 
the longest, that has ever been contested for in 
an international match was the first bet^\een 
Norman Brookes and myself at Forest Hills, 
L. I., during the Davis Cup Challenge Round of 
1914. Each was winning his service game and 
each in turn was making a desperate effort to 
"break through" the other's delivery. The games 
see-saw^ed back and forth with neither one suc- 
cessful in coming within striking distance of his 
opponent, and winning the service began to domi- 
nate the set more and more with its importance. 
Of course, after the four-all mark had been 
reached, it was for me a case of "do or die," for 
the loss of my service after that meant the loss of 
the set, as Brookes was always serving the odd 
game. We alternated without serious mishap 



DOUBLES— I 

If this was a picture of an American team it would not 
be particularly worthy of comment^ as the parallel position 
in doubles is a formation that has long been identified 
with American methods. It is Brookes and Wilding, how- 
ever, the strongest doubles team in the world, and it is very 
seldom that you find them thus, that is in parallel position 
back of the service line. The finish of Wilding's racket 
shows that he has evidently played an overhand shot, prob- 
ably off a high bouncing ball, and^ together with Brookes, 
who is wearing his usual cap, is following the return in to 
the net. The scene of this photograph was in the Davis 
Cup Challenge Round of IQl'i against Bundy and myself. 



Figure 64 



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a \ 

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5^ \ 

rs \ 
-1 \ 

5 \ 

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i 

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i^ 




1: 


1 




r 


i 


Hp . V- -''^ 

1 


i 

1 

1 



TOURNAMENTS 311 

until eight-all. Brookes then served the next game 
with his usual success. At 9-8 he was the means 
of bringing the score to 40-loYe in his favor on 
my service. It looked as though the "break" had 
come at last, for I surely was in a "tight place." 
It was a case of unlimber all I knew about serv- 
ing plus a few things I didn't know, such as 
whether he would take the necessary one of the 
three consecutive points that I sadly needed to 
make it deuce. At this point the situation as it 
appealed to me could be described under three 
heads in the order of their importance. I hoped 
to serve well enough — had to! — either, first to 
win the point outright, or, second, force him into 
error; or, third, at least cause him to play his 
first return of service defensively. I should have 
to consult written records to describe the exact 
sequence of points after 40-love. At any rate 
the "break" seemed to come my way, and a few 
minutes later the game score was lustily called 
nine-all by the umpire. Vague hopes were real- 
ized! 

I certainly wished never to be subjected to 
that strain again. HoAvever, I soon discovered 
that you cannot reckon without your host, for at 
14-13 in games Brookes, by a magnificent effort, 
again went into a 40-1.5 lead on my service. Prac- 



DOUBLES— 11 

Wilding and Brookes are here seen in action in their 
doubles match against Parke and Mavrogordato in the 
Davis Cup Finals of 1914 in Boston, Mass., where Aus- 
tralasia defeated England. Wilding is smashing a lob, 
in the foreground, and the indications are that he is going 
to hit it from off his left foot, which is by direct contrast 
to my own method that I have already described. Wilding 
has backed up for this lob from his position at the net 
where he was stationed, while Brookes was receiving the 
service. Brookes' return has forced the ball to be played 
up defensively to Wilding, whose racket is just about to 
flash up onto the ball. 

Wilding is an exponent of this straight-arm type of 
smash referred to in the text. His posture just before the 
stroke clearly indicates such a shot. His arm will come 
through with a full sweep but minus the free-wristed whip 
that some of us use. Wilding isn't near as deadly with this 
style of smash as Beals Wright, but he is exceedingly ac- 
curate and sure. Therefore, no one ever finds a vulnerable 
point in his armor by persistent lobbing. 



Figure 65 



TOURNAMENTS 315 

ticall}^ the same problem faced me as before — a 
trifle less severe, perhaps, as I had to win two 
points in a row as against three before to make 
a deuce, thus giving me a chance to save the set. 
By this time the first set had assumed even great- 
er proportions than a mere servers' battle. It 
was proving such a tremendous drain on both 
j^hysical and nervous energy that both of us be- 
gan to realize the loss of it woidd give a great 
deal more advantage to his opponent than the 
average first set does in a match of this kind. 
The psychological effect would be tremendous. 
The number of games was counting up to the 
equivalent of three full sets, and the strain was 
much greater than three sets would involve, be- 
cause the play was continuous. Consequently, 
it is not difficult to picture my hearty relief when 
"good fortune" once again came across to my 
side of the net after that 40-15 lead and there- 
after remained a more constant companion 
throughout the match, after the memorable first 
set had culminated at 17-15. 



The most dramatic "tight place" in my humble 
career occurred during the critical stage of the 
Davis Cup Cliallenge Round against England 
at Wimbledon, in 1913. Judging the particular 



DOUBLES— III 

This photograph gives a very good idea of the court 
enclosure at the West Side Club at Forest Hills^ Long Is- 
land^ where the Davis Cup Challenge Round was played 
in 1914. The players are Brookes and Wilding in the fore- 
ground against Bundy and myself on the other side of the 
net. The position of the former pair illustrates the 
Australian and English formation in doubles on the receive 
of service. Wilding is seen standing well within the service 
line in the right foreground, while Brookes is receiving 
Bundy's service. Brookes evidently didn't have time to 
close all the way into the net on the first return and has 
stopped just short of the service line to play his second 
shot, which he will make every effort to keep low to 
prevent our having the down stroke and to permit his 
reaching the desired net position. 



Figure QQ 



TOURNAMENTS 319 

point of which I am about to tell by the way 
things finally worked out, the fate of the cup 
hung in the balance. By a different issue to one 
little contested point the famous trophy might 
never have crossed the water to America's shores, 
and we should never have seen the great series of 
international matches in 1914. Small wonder 
that this point should be considered dramatic, es- 
pecially with its attendant circumstances ! 

According to the matches that were already 
won and lost, the cup depended on the doubles 
match, as has often happened before. Barrett 
and Dixon, one of England's greatest doubles 
teams since the Doherty brothers, were opposed 
to Harold Hackett and myself. They led us 
two sets to one, and had five-three in games 
against us in the fourth set. Principalh^ through 
heroic work on the part of my partner, we were 
able to win the next game on their service. The 
score was then four games to five against us 
with my next service. This game was very close- 
ly contested and the score reached deuce. Dur- 
ing the ensuing rally a rather short lob came up 
to me which I hit with full force, shattering my 
racket through botli shoulders and causing the 
ball to hit the net. ( I have always felt convinced 
in my own mind that if my racket had not broken 



320 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

on that smash, the ball would have gone true.) 
The score was now advantage-out — point set 
match. Naturally I had to take up a new racket 
with which to continue, and Barrett and Dixon, 
like the two fine sportsmen they are, permitted 
me to hit a couple of balls before serving the next 
vital point. We took our positions after a brief, 
moment ; everybody held their breath ; you could 
hear a pin drop among the seven thousand peo- 
ple that surrounded the court! The change of 
rackets afPected my first service, causing it to 
go wild. One ball left on which to pin our faith ! 
I served it to Dixon's backhand with the idea of 
compelling a defensive return. Dixon, on the 
other hand, was extremely anxious to use his 
forehand to administer the "coup de grace," and, 
fortunately for us, attempted to run around this 
service. He did not have quite time to get suffi- 
ciently around for an offensive forehand position, 
which caused the rather weak defensive return we 
needed so badly. The shot floated up to my fore- 
hand, high and rather slow. Again I let go at 
it hard, but this time my racket did not break. 
We seemed to have successfuUjr passed the one 
great crisis, for after that we were never again in 
serious danger of losing the match. 



CHAPTER XV 

TENNIS TRAVELS 

IN a rapid survey of tennis around the world, 
the most noteworthy fact that arrests me is 
the condition and progress of the game in Aus- 
tralasia. jNIore than any other country they owe 
their development and their wide spread interest 
in the game to the Davis Cup, which was the in- 
stitution of international tennis. Prior to the 
time that Brookes and Wilding brought the cup 
home in 1907, tennis was practically a dead issue 
in the island domain. During the four subse- 
quent years that Australia held the cup against 
all invaders, the game grew rapidly, — indeed it 
fairly took the country by storm. A large and 
powerful association sprang into existence that 
controlled the tennis of the country, and keen 
interest was taken in the innumerable tourna- 
ments that were sanctioned. Together with the 
many tennis clubs formed in all cities and towns, 
himdreds of private courts were also constructed. 
Brookes and Dunlop, two of the most famous 

321 



322 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

players, both have beautiful courts of turf in the 
grounds of their own residences. On my first visit 
I was immediately impressed by the attitude of 
the Australian crowds. The absolute impartial- 
ity that they show is remarkable. During the 
Davis Cup matches in 1909, it actually seemed 
at times that they were even pulling for the 
Americans. The high standard of sportsman- 
ship among the players is another striking fea- 
ture. After the more serious tennis was over, 
we were invited to visit some people on a cattle 
station about fifty miles inland from the coast- 
line railroad. Even in this remote locality, we 
found not only a private tennis court but also 
quite a flourishing tennis club in the little town 
nearby. It was on this private court that we 
developed a style of service unknown before or 
since. It was dubbed the "fly service" on ac- 
count of the tremendous quantity of flies that 
filled the air at the time we were trying to play. 
When one came up to the line to serve, strenu- 
ous gyrations with both arms were necessar}^ 
just before the delivery in order to get the flies 
out of one's face and eyes. The service was nat- 
urally a ludicrous burlesque! We had heard 
of the number of flies in the back blocks of Aus- 
tralia but little did we imagine that they could 



TENNIS TRAVELS 323 

actually interfere with a game of tennis. An- 
other feature of the scenery was the heavy back- 
ground of jack-rabbits. 

New Zealand has felt a reaction similar to 
Australia's since the institution of the Davis 
Cup matches, especially since they rightfully 
claim oO per cent, of the honor of bringing the 
Davis Cup to the antipodes, Wilding being a 
native New Zealander. You find in both coun- 
tries courts of grass, dirt, and asphalt. Some va- 
rieties of their dirt courts are known as "chip" 
courts. I was particularh^ struck in New Zea- 
land by the qualitj^ of some of the private grass 
coiu'ts that I saw and played on. One home that 
I visited in central New Zealand had no less 
than three almost perfect courts, which were sec- 
ond to none in the land. There are no particu- 
larly noteworthy features in which New Zea- 
land tennis differs from the Australian tjq^e. 
The New Zealander's style is about the same, 
he is the same good sportsman, and we found the 
New Zealand audiences just as delightful to pla^^ 
before as those in Australia. Throughout our 
trip in 1911, we were called upon to pla}" a good 
many exhibition matches at various places. We 
had a very amusing one in the citj'^ of Auckland 
just prior to our sailing home. Brookes and 



DAVIS CUP PLAY— I 

A glance at the indicator against the backstop in the 
left background of the picture indicates that it was taken 
at four-all in my first set against Brookes in the Davis Cup 
matches at Forest Hills^ Long Island. Some idea may be 
gained from this photograph of the greatest crowd that 
has ever been gathered around a tennis court in the world's 
history of the game. Three consecutive days this huge 
throng assembled, over twelve thousand each day, and the 
behavior and sportsmanlike demeanor of this great mass 
of people left nothing to be desired. They were wonder- 
fully restrained when the occasion demanded and equally so 
were they responsive at other times. 

As to the movements of the players here pictured, 
Brookes has served and has reached the half-way point 
in his follow-in to the net. His service evidently was a 
beauty, for he has forced me completely off balance. The 
ball is crowding me and completely cramping my swing. 

From this bird's-eye position may be gained also a very 
good idea of the court enclosure and the clever plan on 
which the courts were laid down in that enclosure. On 
the first day's play Wilding and Williams played on the 
court in the foreground, followed by Brookes and myself 
as here shown. The second day's play, which comprised 
only the doubles match, was witnessed in the exact centre 
of the enclosure; the respective side lines of the two single 
courts here indicated were converted into the two outside 
lines of the doubles court. A careful scrutiny will show it 
already dimly laid out. Of course, the lines of the single 
courts will be erased where they immediately join the 
doubles court. On the third day's play Brookes and Wil- 
liams met on the vacant court here in the foreground and 
Wilding and myself on the court nearest the clubhouse. 
Run back room for the players was amply provided for 
both behind the base lines, where we had fully 30 feet, and 
20 feet or so at the sides. 

Figure 67 



TENNIS TRAVELS 327 

Diinlop were to play Wright and myself. We 
had scarcely started before the rain began to 
fall in sheets. Everybody felt good natured and 
the audience was willing, so we all stuck it out. 
Before the match was over we were literally 
splashing around the court, soaked to the skin. 
Wright had one or two falls which caused much 
amusement and much splash. The reason I 
stayed afloat I ascribe to the fact that someone 
had loaned me a pair of shoes four times too 
big for me. The displacement and weight of 
these "boats" was a handy thing on this occa- 
sion and kept me on an even keel. We finished 
the match. Wright and mj^self were beaten by 
Brookes and Dunlop. I shall never forget the 
shower baths that the rotating ball gave us. It 
was a wet but wonderful experience. 

In the mid-Pacific we had two ports of call 
and enjoyed some tennis at both of them. We 
played an exhibition match in the town of Suva 
in the Fiji Islands that I shall always remember 
on account of the peculiar grass and our unusual 
ball-boys. The turf was of some tropical va- 
riety that was extremely thick, the blades of 
grass being almost as coarse as bristles. It gave 
one the feeling of walking on springs. It was 
wonderfully easy on the players but hardly con- 



DAVIS CUP PLAY— II 

This was taken during my match against Brookes from 
the grandstand opposite the West Side Club house in the 
Davis Cup matches of 1914. I have served, the racket 
having completed its follow-through, and the first stride to 
the net has almost been taken. The ball hj this time has 
covered approximately one-half the distance between us, 
although it can't be distinguished in the picture. In addi- 
tion to service, it might be well at this point to take note 
of Brookes' receiving position, which is well within the 
baseline, thus necessitating his playing the return on the 
rise, an exceedingly difficult thing to do, which I have dis- 
cussed in the text. 

Some of the linesmen can be seen in the foreground. 
You will notice two men sitting opposite the baselines over 
Avhich I am serving. One of these is the regular linesman, 
the other is delegated especially to call foot faults. He 
also has a chair opposite the other baseline and changes 
his position to whichever end of the court the servers 
happen to be playing from. 



Figure 68 



TENNIS TRAVELS 331 

diicive to an accurate bound of the ball; in 
fact it gave a ridiculously erratic bound that in- 
creased the humor of the match. Our ball-boys 
were no less than a pair of huge ex-cannibals 
with black, bushy hair, who trotted around the 
court after the balls, wearing verj^ little more 
than a smile. They did not seem to have the 
slightest idea of what we were trying to do. 
Someone had explained in the Fijian tongue 
that they were to get the balls and bring them 
back. It made no difference whether we were 
in the middle of a point or not when they got 
back, they walked right across the court and 
handed you the ball with a broad grin. Every- 
body was good natured, however, and it was 
great sport. We found tennis one of the main- 
stays of this small English colon5^ One or two 
of the men there played an unusually good game, 
considering thej'^ were so far out of touch with 
the world. 

One other stop in the mid-Pacific was Hono- 
lulu. Here also there is keen interest in the 
game. The courts for the most part are of either 
dirt or asphalt. It is a surprising thing that 
there are practically no turf courts there. We 
found it difficult to stay out of the water long 
enough to play much tennis, as the surf -bathing 



DAVIS CUP PLAY— III 

The crucial service game in the memorable first set that 
Brookes and I struggled over in the Davis Cup matches 
of 1914. They ran out of figures large enough to be 
posted on the scoreboard in the background ; consequently 
it became of little use to the audience after we passed the 
ten-all mark, and they had to depend entirely on the voice 
of the umpire for the game score as well as the point score. 
The game score here is 16-15. The atmosphere was fairly 
tense with excitement, as it was the first time in that long, 
gruelling set that I had the advantage game witli service. 
Naturally the question in the minds of thousands was, 
"Will he press home this advantage game to a win of the 
set ?" Dame Fortune smiled and he did ! 

I am tempted to again call the attention of the reader 
to my right foot with its relative position to the knee at 
the moment of impact of the ball and racket. I venture 
to say tliat my knee itself is over the line in this picture, 
although it is hard to tell exactly from the position at 
which it was taken. But the right foot is clearly behind 
the line, thus rendering me free from any danger of foot 
faulting. 

The photograph also reveals the trials of a linesman, my 
friend Dean Mathey in this case. Directly behind Brookes 
he may be seen standing beside the ball-boy with the white 
hat. He has had to leave his chair because were I to serve 
down the side line to Brookes' backhand he would have 
no chance of seeing exactly where the ball struck on ac- 
count of the likelihood of Brookes' body coming across his 
line of vision. He therefore must stand out clear in order 
to gain an unobstructed view of the line. 



Figure 69 



TENNIS TRAVELS 335 

is marvelous. Most of the players are American 
college men who learned their game in this coun- 
try and have since gone into business on the 
islands, and some play a very good game. A jfiner 
set of good fellows and sportsmen cannot pos- 
sibly be found. They are all of championship 
calibre in this respect, if not in their tennis. As 
a matter of fact I saw very few Hawaiian play- 
ers and none that had any noteworthy ability. 
Japan has experienced a great change in tennis 
conditions during the past few years, and withal 
a Yevj material progress in the game. It is only 
during this time that they have changed from 
using a light, coverless ball to our present-day 
felt-covered variety. The use of the former had 
a very peculiar effect on the strokes. You could 
hit the ball with terrific impact, which would 
result in verj^ high snake-like velocity during 
the early part of its flight, and then it would 
suddenly die in the air losing all its forward 
momentum, and dive for the ground. You can 
see the effect long-continued use of such a ball 
would have on the strokes of the Japanese. 
Their strokes developed into vicious slashes at 
the ball, because no matter how hard they struck 
it was difficult to hit very much beyond the 
baseline. Of late years, however, they have 



DAVIS CUP PLAY— IV 

A scene at Six-all in the first set in my match against 
Brookes in the Davis Cup of 1914. This picture is quite 
a valuable study in that it illustrates a very difficult stroke 
that I have learned and used quite frequently with con- 
siderable success against Brookes during this match. It 
might be described as a concealed lob^ as I have gone 
through the preliminary motion of a forehand drive and at 
the last moment converted the stroke into a lob. The 
reason for attempting this was that Brookes, when estab- 
lished at the net, very frequently crowded in close with 
the intention of decisively cutting off the return for an 
earned point. Oftentimes, therefore, when my position 
was a natural one for a forehand drive I would attempt this 
ruse, for Brookes would naturally be expecting a low fast 
return and there was every likelihood not only of his 
close-in net position, but his weight and balance being 
well forward as well. When this stroke works out per- 
fectly the lob is not of the high, straight variety, but one 
with a low trajectory that is meant to make recovery doubly 
difficult by running around. 



Figure 70 



TENNIS TRAVELS 339 

changed to standard methods and are develop- 
ing some verj^ good players. They almost 
always send representative plaj^ers down to the 
Philippines for the championships of the Orient, 
and last j^ear, if I remember correctly, their best 
man, whose name I do not recall, took Fottrell, 
one of our best California plaj^ers, to five hard 
sets before he was mastered. The courts in 
Japan, for the most part, are of claj^ 

My travels did not take me into France and 
Germany sufficiently to form any accurate im- 
pressions of tennis conditions in these countries. 
Williams and I had some practice at one of the 
principal clubs in Paris, where the courts were of 
claj% and very good. We were there more as 
tourists than as tennis players, and consequently 
we did not come in contact with any of the 
French players. This also applies to Germany. 
It is strange, but it has so happened that the 
French players, representing one of the prin- 
cipal tennis nations on the Continent, are the 
only ones I have not seen or played against. I 
am told, however, that their style is ver}^ like the 
American, especiallj^ in the aggressive features 
of their play. Up to the time of the war the in- 
terest in the game had increased noticeably in 
France. Some of the most representative Ger- 



DAVIS CUP PLAY—V 

Williams vs. Brookes in the crucial match of the Davis 
Cup Challenge of IPIJ?. Williams has served to Brookes 
and volleyed his return rather short. Brookes is here seen 
closing into the net after blocking the ball with a low back- 
hand stroke straight down the line over which he is run- 
ning. Such a point as this may illustrate wherein Brookes 
might gain an advantage by his standing well within the 
baseline to receive the service on the rise, for when his 
opponent's first volley is the least bit short he is imme- 
diately placed in a commanding position to carefully place 
the shot either straight down or across-court, at the same 
time closing in with it to the net. The idea is that if he 
does not succeed in scoring a clean pass he will at least 
force a defensive volley which will be promptly smothered 
from his position at the net that he has forced. 

This match settled the fate of the famous International 
trophy for the ensuing year^ and the huge crowd, a section 
of which can be seen in the background, was worked up 
to a high pitch of excitement in the hope that our lad 
might unlimber a streak of his super-brilliance and carry 
his veteran opponent off his feet. This he did do for one 
set, but unfortunately could not sustain it, and Brookes' 
game, having never once faltered, was not to be denied. 
Thus Australasia was declared the champion nation and 
regained her possession of the famous Davis Cup, emblem- 
atic of the world's team championship. The trophy itself 
may be seen on a table just back of Brookes. 



Figure 71 



TENNIS TRAVELS 343 

man players we met and plaj^ed against in Eng- 
land, and were very much impressed with their 
style of game, — especially that of their cham- 
pion, Freutzheim, whose ground game is won- 
derfully perfected. The Germans are good net 
players too, but show a preference for the base- 
line game. Their strokes have a mechanical 
precision that is striking. Manj^ little charac- 
teristics in their play show that they do not de- 
velop their game on anything but hard courts. 
As a matter of fact, both in France and Ger- 
many, I know of no grass courts at all. Their 
tennis is confined almost entirelj^ to cIslj. The 
German stj^le is typical, but an analj^sis would 
seem to indicate that they have imbibed certain 
features from the tennis-plaj^ing nations nearby, 
combining these in a wajr of their own. At least 
that is the way their game looked to me. Almost 
all the Germans that I saw played in very pretty 
form. The national temperament of a people 
enters largelj^ into the style of game they favor. 
The French are very excitable. They plaj^ very 
fast and are apt to "go up in the air." The Ger- 
man player is verj^ methodical and plays, as I 
said, with mechanical precision. Germans in 
general move like well oiled machines, and march 
to their positions like soldiers. 



344 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

We took a hurried trip through Switzerland 
and played a little tennis at Lucerne and Mon- 
treux. All through this beautiful country, we 
found any number of courts, most of them main- 
tained by the hotels. The courts are almost en- 
tirely of dirt and have the most picturesque loca- 
tions I have ever seen, some of them on the tops 
of mountains, others on the shores of beautiful 
lakes. One afternoon we played tennis near 
Montreux, right on the lake shore, and imme- 
diately afterward climbed a mountain overlook- 
ing the courts, on the top of which we found a 
hotel where a great many players, most of them 
Frenchmen, were gathered for a tournament. 
They welcomed us cordially — especially Wil- 
liams, whom they knew and were greatly excited 
over seeing again — and then insisted on our 
joining them at a round table for dinner. We 
listened to the accounts of how their tournament 
up in the clouds was progressing and were sorry 
to be obliged to leave without seeing any of the 
tennis. 

Beyond a doubt, there is more tennis played 
in England to the square mile than in any coun- 
try in the world. The wide spread interest in 
the game is tremendous, its popularity steadily 
increasing year after year, yet strange to say 



TENNIS TRAVELS 345 

there has not been a corresponding development 
of the game itself, as in all the other countries. 
I refer in particular to the evolution of the serv- 
ice and the increasing importance of the net 
game. The climate of England is especially 
adapted to the growth of turf; consequently 
they average a greater number of grass courts 
of better quality than those of any other country. 
Because the Englishman's game is entirely 
built up around ground strokes, we find him re- 
markably proficient in this department. Not 
only the first-class players, even those of 
very average ability possess wonderfully sound 
ground strokes, or the form that is a foundation 
for soundness. But the reasons they have not 
progressed in the game are, it seems to me, first : 
that they have made no effort to encourage ten- 
nis among the younger generation. We know it 
to be a universal fact that to develop new and 
better players it is necessary for them to begin 
the game young. The average English boy is 
brought up to feel that cricket is the major sport 
and the only one worth while. Consequently he 
has developed into manhood before tennis re- 
ceives his serious consideration. If the time ever 
comes, and I think it will some day in the future, 
when the large clubs, schools, and park systems 



346 TENNIS AS I PLAY IT 

take a direct interest in encouraging boys' ten- 
nis, it will result in a tremendous development of 
the English game. Then again the English are 
very methodical and play in an extremely con- 
servative way. There is nothing aggressive or 
violent about their play. It is well thought out 
and studiously correct, but lacking in a certain 
freedom which spells progress. 

For how long the war has ruined the sport in 
Europe, along with far greater devastation, is, 
of course, beyond prediction. But though Aus- 
tralians and New Zealanders are at the front, the 
Antipodes themselves are thankfully far re- 
moved from the bloody zone, and we may rea- 
sonably expect that the game will continue under 
far better conditions in this one of its natural 
homes than will obtain even in England after 
the Avar. The Australians are a great race of 
sportsmen. To Australia and to America we 
may look for the real future of the game for some 
time to come. And in America the East is cer- 
tainly the logical tournament territorj^, being the 
true tennis centre and the centre of popular 
interest. 

The sporting spirit of America is distinctly 
favorable to the development of the young 
player and the fostering of his growth into cham- 



TENNIS TRAVELS 347 

pionship material. The National Association 
shows a splendid enthusiasm and the ability to 
take infinite pains to successfullj?- stage its tour- 
naments. The healthy activity of the game 
wins it an ever increasing number of adherents. 
The outlook could not be more encouraging. 
And it is pleasant to think that this fine sport 
has proved another of the many ties to bind 
Coast to Coast and acquaint Easterner and 
Westerner with the beauties of the other fellow's 
playground. 



3li.77-a 



